Watch A Chinese Carmaker Try To Match Land Rover And Destroy An Ancient Staircase In The Process

Back in 2018, Land Rover pulled off a big PR stunt in China by driving a then-new Range Rover Sport plug-in hybrid up a bunch of stairs directly in front of a tourist attraction called “Heaven’s Gate,” a gigantic naturally occurring rock archway next to Tianmen Mountain in the Hunan Province.

Footage published by Land Rover made the 999-stair climb stunt look fairly difficult. Engineers even went as far as to build a section of test stairs that mimicked the real objective’s 45-degree angle to practice. And during the run, test driver Ho-Pin Tung fought to keep the SUV pointed straight, navigating the climb’s two flat portions, which come in short succession.

Land Rover was the first—and up until yesterday, the only—carmaker to attempt such a feat. Chinese automaker Chery tried to do the same thing with its Fulwin X3L extended-range electric SUV, but failed in spectacular fashion, damaging a piece of the “ancient” staircase in the process.

Why Would You Even Want To Do This?

Climbing up steep, uneven inclines is a tried-and-true method for automakers wanting to show off the capabilities of their off-road products. If you’ve ever been to an auto show, you’ve probably seen an outdoor section with one of those metal climbing structures designed to show off an SUV’s off-road chops. Here’s one at the Los Angeles Auto Show filmed back in 2016:

Land Rover’s stunt on the side of Tianmen Mountain was basically just an extension of this idea, on a far grander scale. Incorporating a well-known tourist attraction adds to the appeal, plus the scenery and perceived risk of it all attract a big audience. The feat was the grand finale for what Land Rover called the “Dragon Challenge,” which also had Tung race up the twisty, 99-turn road to get to the base of the mountain. Watch:

Likely wanting to generate some good press for itself, Chery attempted to pull off a similar stunt on Thursday with its X3L, an EREV that, perhaps coincidentally, looks a lot like the current Land Rover Defender. Except, things didn’t go as well as the company had hoped.

Chery’s Attempt Doesn’t Go As Planned

Video published across the internet from onlookers at the base of the mountain shows a yellow X3L attempting to climb the staircase. Both videos embedded here start after the first set of stairs is climbed, which suggests the vehicle was able to climb them without issue. It’s only when the car approaches the second set of stairs that things go sideways (literally).

From what I can tell, the Chery accelerates into the stairs and bottoms out, though it’s tough to tell if it’s the front end hitting the stairs or the underside. Either way, the car is able to ascend to near the next flat platform. Video shows a black piece of … something emerge from underneath the car, before the X3L begins to struggle.

You can hear the tires fighting for grip as the SUV begins to slide backwards. Despite the brake lights illuminating, the Chery continues to reverse, riding along a set of handrails before landing at the pedestal and barreling in, rear quarter panel first, into the stone guard rail, knocking a portion into the woods below.

What Went Wrong?

I could sit here all day and speculate what happened here. The all-wheel drive version of the X3L–presumably the version being used here—makes 422 horsepower from its electric motors, 16 more horses than that Range Rover. Official curb weight is a bit tougher to come by, but some sources suggest this thing weighs around 5,000 pounds—not light, but also not as heavy as the Range Rover. So theoretically, it shouldn’t have an issue getting itself up the stairs.

Well, according to Chery, it wasn’t the car’s fault or the driver’s fault. It was a safety rope attached to the car that somehow became detached. From Car News China:

The company stated that a preliminary investigation revealed the direct cause of the accident was the “unexpected detachment of a shackle from the safety rope’s anchor point of the test device.” This led to the safety rope entangling the right wheel, obstructing power output, and causing the vehicle to slide and collide with the railing. Chery confirmed that no personnel were injured, and no natural environment was damaged.

Chery acknowledged “insufficient estimation of potential risks and oversights in detailed control” during the planning and execution of the test, particularly in choosing a public scenic area for the activity. The company expressed deep regret for the damage caused to the Tianmen Mountain site and pledged to repair it and bear all compensation responsibilities fully.

Upon closer inspection, you can see a rope laid out on the staircase leading up to the car. How it would’ve helped in the case of a tip-over, I’m not so sure. In any case, I’m curious to see how Chery approaches this next time. That’s right—according to one outlet, the company is reportedly going to try again. From NFNews:

Despite the setback in this challenge, Chery Automobile has reportedly announced plans to launch another attempt on November 25th, according to insiders. Meanwhile, in response to the issues exposed, the technical team may implement a series of improvements: replacing tires with all-wheel-drive (AT) tires specifically designed for unpaved roads; upgrading the torque distribution algorithm of the intelligent electric four-wheel-drive system to improve the response speed of the rear wheel lock; and adding real-time vehicle pitch angle monitoring to maintain center of gravity stability through active suspension adjustments.

Honestly, I’d love to go see this stunt in person on the 25th. If only the flights to Zhangjiajie City didn’t take 27 hours and cost $1,600.

Top graphic image: CarNewsChina / YouTube