Range Rover demonstrates it's breadth of
capability by towing an Airstream to Morocco and back!
In order to demonstrate the class-leading towing ability of the
all-new Range Rover, Land Rover teamed up with an American icon to
take part in the ultimate road-trip to one of the highest points in
Africa.
With a newly-launched Airstream 684 Series 2 aluminium travel
trailer hitched to its electrically-deployable tow bar, a Range
Rover Autobiography with the 250kW SDV8 engine was chosen for the
challenge – to drive from Airstream's European
home in the English Lake District, to the top of the Atlas
Mountains in Morocco - and back…
More European Airstream owners choose Land Rover products to tow
their 'silver bullets' than cars from any other manufacturer so
all-new Range Rover and Airstream made for an appropriate pairing.
The journey started at the factory where Airstream finish their
European specification trailers in Tebay, just a few miles from the
Scottish border, to Oukaïmeden, which
is the highest ski resort in Africa. En route, it encompassed Land
Rover's state of the art factory in Solihull, Frank Gehry's amazing
aluminium Marques de Riscal building in the Spanish wine region of
Rioja, the beach near Casablanca, the desert outside Chichaoua and
the race track at Marrakesh, where Land Rover was based for the
launch of the new car.
Often on the move for more than 12 hours a day on every type of
road imaginable – from the empty motorways of
Spain to the precipitous hairpins of the High Atlas
– the all-new Range Rover coped imperiously with
the challenge of towing a 2,399 kg Airstream 5,915 kilometres in
just 11 days.
Ben Samuelson, whose firm Samuelson Wylie Associates planned and
executed the trip, was deeply impressed by the new car: "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. Half way through Spain, we encountered
horrendous side winds, the type that sees articulated trucks tipped
onto their side, but the Range Rover's Trailer Stability Assist
meant that any sway in the trailer was dealt with before it ever
started. And mountains. What mountains? With 700 NM of torque from
that mighty V8 diesel at our disposal, there wasn't an incline that
slowed us down at all, even with a gross train weight of well over
5 tonnes. What was possibly even more impressive was the way that,
even after repeated 12 hour driving days, we'd step up into that
exquisite cabin in the morning and still appreciate its sense of
occasion."
And the overnight stays were no less luxurious...
"You can compare the Airstream to a boutique hotel
– albeit a mobile one – and
taking this combination of rig on your travels injects some serious
style and comfort. The moment that really summed up the magic of a
journey like this was waking up in the Airstream on a sunny morning
next to the beach just outside Casablanca – only
a few days after towing it down a crowded British motorway through
typically dismal autumnal British weather. A hot shower was
followed by breakfast rustled up in a luxurious Corian-worktopped
kitchen and that morning's Times newspaper downloaded onto the iPad
via the Airstream's satellite broadband. I think we proved that
luxury and adventure are not mutually
exclusive…"
For further information please contact:
Editors Note:
- Since 1948 Land Rover has been manufacturing authentic 4x4s
that represent true 'breadth of capability' across the model range.
Defender, Freelander, Discovery, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover and
Range Rover Evoque each define the world's 4x4 sectors, with 78% of
this model range exported to over 140 countries.
- Land Rover is committed to addressing the challenges of climate
change and since September 2006 carbon dioxide generated by Land
Rover manufacturing activities and UK customer vehicle use has been
balanced through an industry leading offset programme run by
Climate Care.