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The new Range Rover Sport from the Tata Motors’ Land Rover stable in the UK has set the fastest recorded time for a land vehicle crossing one of the harshest and most challenging desert environments on the planet called the ‘Empty Quarter’ located in the Arabic peninsula.
The Empty Quarter — or Rub' al Khali — is the largest single stretch of sand desert in the world and the second largest desert area after the Sahara. Intensely hot by day, above 50 degree Celsius, it is also dangerously arid. With no reliable water source and an ever-shifting terrain, it provides a true endurance test for man and machine.
The drive team completed the journey from Wadi Adda Wasir in Saudi Arabia to the border of the UAE in 10 hours and 22 minutes at an average speed of 51.87 mph (81.87 km/h), covering a distance of 849 km — the route dictated by the conditions on the ground. The vehicle, running on standard tyres, had undergone a lone modification — the fitment of an underbody protection plate.
The vehicle was driven by Land Rover driver Moi Torrallardona, a 47-year-old Spanish off-road racer with extensive experience of the Dakar Rally. Torrallardona said: “The challenge of the desert is like nothing else, it is a brutal, unforgiving and sometimes deadly environment. Desert driving requires a unique combination of speed, finesse and technical skill. It is crucial that you tackle the dunes with precision. Knowing the right time to go full throttle and the right time to slow down takes experience and clear judgement. This unique way of driving requires a vehicle which has the same skillset — it must be both incredibly fast but also agile, responsive and well-planted. The Range Rover Sport is exactly that.”
The Empty Quarter spans four countries in the Arabic Peninsula: Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. It has vast sand flats, soft dunes and epic canyons. The team set off at first light on November 3 and finished the challenge as the sun was setting. This feat comes after Range Rover Sport’s June record in hill climb at Pikes Peak.
Exploiting Land Rover’s breakthrough lightweight suspension design and innovative chassis technologies, the Range Rover Sport’s aluminium architecture achieves a weight saving of more than 420 kg. Designed and engineered at Land Rover’s development centres in the UK, the new model is produced at the company’s manufacturing facility at Solihull, UK.
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