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2018 Discovery tows seven-trailer truck

Posted on 21 September, 2017

The Land Rover Discovery has taken on a 110-tonne road train in the Australian Outback and won. The sight of a seven-trailer truck being pulled by an SUV sounds far-fetched – but that’s exactly what happened when Land Rover put the Discovery to the ultimate towing test. Land Rover completed the display of towing capability by pulling a 100 metre road train in the remote Northern Territory to announce the arrival of the 2018 Discovery. The Discovery Td6 has a maximum certified towing capacity of 3,500kg on public roads but towed the road train 16km along a closed section of the Lasseter Highway, thanks to its 258PS 3.0-litre diesel engine and four-wheel-drive traction. Road trains of up to four trailers are only permitted in Australia’s Outback regions. Regulations limit their length to 53.5m so Land Rover obtained 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 John Bilato, managing director of Haulage Specialist G&S Transport, Took. “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. Pulling a rig and seven trailers, with the rolling resistance of so many axles to overcome, is a huge achievement. We expected the vehicle to do well but it passed this test with flying colours, hitting 44km/h along its 16km route,” says Quentin Spottiswoode, Land Rover product engineer. 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. With 600Nm of torque, the Td6 is well suited to pulling heavy loads. The 258PS 3.0- litre single-turbo engine features low-pressure exhaust recirculation and a two-stage oil pump for improved responses, refinement and efficiency. As a result, the diesel model delivers CO2 emissions of 189g/km and fuel economy of 39.2mpg (7.2l/100km). Discovery is now available with Jaguar Land Rover’s efficient 300PS four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine.  The new engine produces 400Nm of torque and CO2 emissions from 219g/km.