Motoring: Ultimate 4×4 shows it pulling power
LAND ROVER has demonstrated the pulling power of its legendary off-road vehicles – and its new Wolverhampton-built engines – in the grandest of manners, by hauling three luxury train carriages weighing more than 100 tonnes along a railway track.
The 10km journey through the Rhine region of northern Switzerland put the compact Discovery Sport’s capabilities to the ultimate test.
Though the Discovery Sport has a certified maximum towing weight of 2,500kg (2.5 tonnes), the stunt demonstrated that the vehicle is capable of pulling up to 60 times its own weight.
(See Video below)
The Halewood-built vehicle is powered by Jaguar Land Rover’s 180PS Ingenium diesel engine, which is manufactured at the firm’s plant outside Wolverhampton.
The stunt was also a test of the company’s array of towing and traction technologies such as Terrain Response, Tow Assist, Tow Hitch Assist and All Terrain Progress Control – a semi-autonomous off-road driving system that automatically manages engine output and braking, to complete the tow.
The vehicle’s drivetrain remained unchanged; the only modification being the fitment of rail wheels by specialists Aquarius Railroad Technologies, to act as ‘stabilisers’.
What was more impressive was that the Discovery Sport completed the haul without the aid of a low-range gearbox, instead using its state-of-the-art nine-speed automatic gearbox and Terrain Response technology to generate the necessary traction. Land Rover’s All Terrain Progress Control (ATPC) system was also engaged during the tow, to maximise traction at a set speed. Acting much like a ‘low-speed cruise control’, ATPC allows the driver to focus on the road – or in this case the railway – ahead.
Karl Richards, Lead Engineer for Stability Control Systems at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Towing is in Land Rover’s DNA, and despite Discovery Sport being the smallest model in the range, it has proved its exceptional towing capabilities.
“Over the years, we have introduced game-changing towing technologies to take the stress out of towing for our customers. I’ve spent most of my career travelling to the most punishing parts of the world to test Land Rovers in grueling conditions, yet this is the most extreme towing test I’ve ever done.”
The train-pulling feat was undertaken on 10km of track at the Museumsbahn Stein am Rhein in Switzerland, crossing the River Rhine on the dramatic Hemishofen bridge – a historic steel span measuring 935 feet long and soaring 85 feet above the valley floor.
Land Rover has a history of rail conversions, from the days of the Series II and IIA Land Rover to the various Defender models that have been modified to run on rails for maintenance, and the notable launch of Discovery I in 1989. The latter saw a converted Discovery towing a series of carriages in Plymouth to demonstrate the capability of the new 200Tdi diesel engine.
British road-to-rail 4×4 conversion specialists Aquarius Railroad Technologies fitted the rail wheels to the otherwise standard Discovery Sport.
James Platt, managing director of the firm, said: “For a vehicle of this size to pull a combined weight of more than 100 tonnes demonstrates real engineering integrity. No modifications were necessary to the drivetrain whatsoever and in tests the Discovery Sport generated more pull than our road-rail Defender, which is remarkable.”
[VIDEO: 955]
