If you have been a person who always had an interest in cars and bikes, you would remember an iconic promotional video that Range Rover did with their Sport SUV. They took the car to Tianmen Mountain in Hunan province of China in 2018 and drove up a mountain road with 99 hairpin turns and a 999-step steep climb to Heaven’s Gate. Almost eight years after the stunt, it looks like there are other brands attempting to do the same stunt. A video has now surfaced online where a Chinese car manufacturer fails while trying to replicate the same stunt.
The video has been circulating on various social media platforms. It was actually shared by a user on X. The exact make and model of the car seen in the video are not clear, as the video was recorded from a distance. It looks like one of those off-road SUVs from brands like Chery or Jetour.
The yellow-coloured SUV can be seen climbing up the stairs. In fact, there are 999 steps at Heaven’s Gate. There are landing areas in between the stairs to ensure that people can rest. These landing areas also give cars like these a flat spot to accelerate and gain momentum before climbing the next set of stairs.
The driver was probably not prepared for this challenge, or maybe the vehicle was not capable enough for this terrain. The vehicle loses momentum before reaching the next landing, and the next thing we see is the SUV rolling back down the stairs. It comes and crashes on the landing from where it started, and as it was carrying momentum, it couldn’t stop and crashed into the walls or railings of the steps.
The wall broke, and a portion of it fell down. We did a bit of research and found that the car seen in the video was, in fact, a Chery Fulwin X3L SUV. It is actually an electric SUV, and that was probably the reason why it couldn’t climb up.
We have noticed that in most cases, electric vehicles are fitted with low-resistance tyres. This is done intentionally to increase the overall driving range. We assume that the brand had not prepared the car for this stunt and went ahead with the stock tyres.
As the gradient got steeper, the low-resistance tyres might have given up completely, which might have led to the crash. According to reports, the accident happened on November 12, and the site was closed for two days after the stunt.
The company admitted that it was insufficient estimation of potential risk that led to the crash. The company expressed deep regret for the damage caused at a tourist spot like this. They have also promised that the damage caused to Tianmen Mountain will be repaired and that the company will bear the responsibility for the same.