RANGE ROVER SPORT DOWNHILL CHALLENGE

When you picture the Swiss Alps, the word ‘inferno’ isn’t something that usually springs to mind. For those that know it though, the Schilthorn range in Mürren, Switzerland has been home to the Inferno Challenge since it was born in 1928. The event is the oldest surviving downhill ski race in the world and at over nine miles long with a 6,300-foot vertical descent, it’s one of the longest and most challenging.

Each year it’s tackled by 1,800 sportsmen and women who, this year, found themselves joined by an unusual new challenger; enter the Range Rover Sport, with the direct aim of setting a course record for the fastest descent of a downhill ski race in summer.

Known for its speed and optimum performance, both on-and off-road, the Range Rover Sport with a 5.0L Supercharged V8 was the perfect vehicle to attempt the very same course during the snow-free summer. Of course, a performance SUV on a challenge like this needs a performance driver and that’s where Ben Collins comes in.⁹

Despite Ben’s experience, locals were still shocked at his attempt to take on the Inferno Challenge in a vehicle. Cleeves Palmer, President of the Kandahar Ski Club said, “The terrain is strewn with boulders; I would far rather race it on skis in winter than drive it in the summer!” And this, from a veteran of 30 races.

Undeterred and ready for the challenge, Ben got into the Range Rover Sport – modified only with the addition of a roll cage, seat harness and reinforced tires – and set off for the summit, ready to take on the Inferno Challenge and prove why it was the best 4x4 SUV for the job.

From ice, rocks and gravel, to wet mud, earth and grass, the Inferno Challenge had it all. And though it sounds like an impossibility for most vehicles, not so for the Range Rover Sport.

With the Inferno Challenge throwing up some of nature’s toughest challenges, Ben made use of the many driver assist technologies at his fingertips. Torque Vectoring by Braking helped feed the right amount of power to each wheel as and when it was needed on the descent. Terrain Response® 2 with Dynamic Mode were both activated to ensure the vehicle could quickly adapt to the ever-changing ground beneath it. Even when the ground stopped and flowing waters and rocky streams replaced it, Ben was able to make use of the Rock Crawl setting to keep the vehicle moving swiftly in a controlled fashion.¹

At an altitude of 9,150 feet the weather can be unpredictable, to say the least.

At the start of the challenge and at the summit of the mountain, the starting temperature was zero degrees, which meant Ben and the vehicle immediately hit ice and sleet, all while hurtling down the mountainside at a gradient of up to 75 percent.

But it didn’t end where the descent began; in fact on the way down into the Kanonenrohr Valley, fog and mist patches made for poor visibility and continuing rain reduced grip on the already tricky path as temperatures increased to a more favorable 18 degrees.