The 999 Steps: Time for Coffee?

JLR gives us its rather different take on climbing the stairway to heaven...

Jaguar Land Rover has worked hard over the past few years to establish itself as the foremost manufacturer of over the top publicity stunts. From daring highwire drives above the Thames, to loopy 80th birthday antics, it seems like they've done it all.

New cars call for new campaigns, however, so having already established that the Range Rover Sport is good at going down things, JLR has headed to China to publicize the launch of a new plug-in hybrid variant, and take on one of its Chelsea tractor's most feared adversaries, steps.

The new SUV, unveiled at the end of last year, has a 300hp four-cylinder petrol engine paired with a 116hp electric motor, which Land Rover hopes will improve emissions and running costs without detracting from performance. An electric only range of up to 30 miles with official combined fuel economy of 101mpg ought to do the trick, while 0-62 takes 6.3 seconds - half a second less than a diesel HSE but two seconds more than an SVR.

As you'll see in the video below, having first negotiated the famous 99 turns of the Tianmen mountain's Dragon Road, the RRS PHEV proceeded to ascend the 45-degree, 999-step staircase that leads to the famous rock arch known as Heaven's Gate. Obligatory PR stunt scepticism aside, the speed that the big 'Rover takes those stairs at is genuinely rather impressive!