Land Rover has hitched the 2013 Range Rover to the luxurious Airstream 648 and towed it to Africa and back – 3,676 miles in 11 days.
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But nothing rams home the abilities of a car, even a luxury SUV, like a long-term challenge; the novelty wears off and what is left is the inherent abilities to judge. And it seems Land Rover has managed to demonstrate just how able the new Range Rover is with the sort of towing job few Range Rover owners will ever undertake.
Land Rover took the new Range Rover Autobiography with the 4.4 litre SDV8 diesel – with its 339bhp and, more importantly, 516lb/ft of torque – up to the Lake District to attach a new Airstream 684 Series 2 aluminium travel trailer (a posh American caravan weighing 2399kg – more than the kerb weight of the new Range Rover) for a trip to Africa and back.
Over the course of 11 days the Range Rover and Airstream combo travelled 3,676 miles from the Lake District, via Land Rover’s Solihull plant, the Marques de Riscal building in Rioja, the beach in Casablanca, the desert in Chichaoua, the race track in Marrakesh and on to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco – and back again.
Ben Samuelson, whose firm Samuelson Wylie Associates organised the trip, said:
The new Range Rover’s towing ability is nothing short of stunning. It pulled the two and a half tonne Airstream like it simply wasn’t there.
It didn’t matter what we, or the weather, threw at it – it just did the job we asked of it without question, while truly cosseting us with its extraordinary luxury and refinement.
The Range Rover’s Trailer Stability Assist meant that any sway in the trailer was dealt with before it ever started [and] there wasn’t an incline that slowed us down at all, even with a gross train weight of well over 5 tonnes.
Impressive stuff from the new Range Rover, and a great demonstration of just what it can achieve.
Even if there’s probably not a single prospective owner likely to undertake anything similar.
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