The sight of a seven-trailer truck being pulled by an SUV sounds far-fetched – but a Land Rover Discovery is proving otherwise.
To celebrate the arrival of the model year 2018 Discovery, Land Rover put one to the ultimate test by making it pull a 100m-long road train in the remote Northern Territory.
The Discovery Td6 has a maximum certified towing capacity of 3500kg on public roads, but it successfully pulled the 110-tonne road train 16km along a closed section of the Lasseter Highway, thanks to its 190kW 3-litre diesel engine and four-wheel-drive traction.
Australia’s Outback region permits road trains of up to four trailers which typically carry fuel, mineral ore and cattle between remote rural communities.
Strict regulations limit their length to 53.5m, so Land Rover obtained special permission to pull seven trailers and the 12-tonne tractor unit – retained to operate the hydraulic brakes fitted to the trailers.
“When Land Rover first got in touch, I didn’t think the vehicle would be able to do it, so I was amazed by how easily the standard Discovery pulled a 110-tonne road train,” says Took-based G&S Transport managing director John Bilato.
“The smoothness of the gear changes under that amount of load was impressive. These road trains are the most efficient form of road haulage on the planet and using the Discovery made this the most economical of all,” says Bilato.
The extreme test was carried out using a Discovery Td6 and is the latest in a series of impressive towing demonstrations completed by the Discovery family.
At its 1989 launch, the original Discovery I pulled a train and last year the Discovery Sport premium compact SUV towed a trio of rail carriages 85ft above the Rhine River.
“Towing capability has always been an important part of Discovery DNA, and the raw weight of the road train tells only half the story here,” says Land Rover product engineer Quentin Spottiswoode.
“Pulling a rig and seven trailers, with the rolling resistance of so many axles to overcome, is a tremendous achievement. We expected the vehicle to do well, but it passed this test with flying colours, hitting 44km/h along its 16km route,” says Spottiswoode.
The Discovery used a standard eight-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel drive system and was hooked up to the road train using a factory-fitted tow bar attachment.
The road train was carrying 10-tonnes of ballast to hit the magic 110-tonne weight mark.
Thanks to 600Nm of torque, the Td6 capably pulls heavy loads. The 190kW 3-litre single-turbo engine features low-pressure exhaust recirculation and a two-stage oil pump for improved response and efficiency. As a result, the diesel model delivers CO 2 emissions of 189g/km and fuel economy of 39.2mpg (7.2l/100 km).
The Discovery is now available with Jaguar Land Rover’s four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine.
The new powerplant uses Continuously Variable Valve Lift (CVVL) technology to optimise efficiency and a twin-scroll turbocharger with ceramic bearings for smooth responses and reduced friction. The new engine produces 400Nm of torque and CO 2 emissions from 219g/km.
