Land Rover Discovery Sport Compact SUV Successfully Pulls 100-Tonne Train

The cars manufactured in this era are undoubtedly solid and capable, and yet some feats these machines achieve never fail to surprise us. The latest example of such an occurrence would be the Land Rover Discovery Sport pulling a 100-tonne train, which is equivalent to the weight of a Boeing-757 airplane. The SUV, demonstrating its towing capability, towed three luxury train carriages that weigh over 100 tonnes along a railway track.

(This Land Rover Discovery Sport is powered by the 177.5bhp Ingenium diesel engine)

The Land Rover Discovery Sport, launched in India last year, is built on the same platform as the Range Rover Evoque and is offered here with a 2.2-litre diesel engine in two states of tune: 147.5bhp and 188bhp. The compact SUV's list of rivals includes names such as BMW X3, Audi Q5, and Volvo XC60.

The sensational feat was undertaken on 10km of track at the Museumsbahn Stein am Rhein in Switzerland, crossing the River Rhine on the Hemishofen bridge - a historic steel span measuring 935 feet long and soaring 85 feet above the valley floor. The Discovery Sport, despite a certified maximum towing weight of 2,500Kg (2.5 tonnes), was able to pull 60 times its own weight. The standard Land Rover Discovery Sport was fitted with rail wheels by British road-to-rail 4x4 conversion specialists.

(The 100-tonne train is equivalent to the weight of a Boeing-757 airplane)

The car in question is powered by Jaguar Land Rover's 177.5bhp Ingenium diesel engine that provides 430Nm of torque. Additionally, the Discovery Sport was also aided by a myriad of 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.

Watch the video here: