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<\/a>It\u2019s in this environment that the Land Rover<\/a>\/Jaguar<\/a>\u00a0group wants to set a new record.\u00a0 Using a standard production Range Rover Sport<\/a>, they\u2019re going to try crossing this desert in record time. It\u2019s going to be 1000 km of hot dry driving in terrain that\u2019s usually tackled by specialist sand machines. Behind the wheel will be a Spanish veteran of the Dakar Rally by the name of Moi Torrallardona who\u2019s used to tackling this sort of terrain.<\/p>\nThe record attempt is nicely timed so that, if all goes planned, the new Range Rover Sport that did the crossing will turn up as the Dubai Motor Show starts, all ready for interviews, photos and general oohing and aahing.<\/p>\n
To motorists in the UK, where Jaguar\/Land Rover is based, this desert crossing sounds very romantic, adventurous and exciting, along the lines of the first few paragraphs of this article (which were quite fun to write). Will they do it or won\u2019t they? Can they cross a desert that\u2019s the size of France?\u00a0 To them, it\u2019s an epic struggle of man and machine versus towering sand dunes, trackless wastes and scorching heat.<\/p>\n
However, I\u2019m not so sure if we ought to be quite as impressed over in our part of the world. We\u2019ve got a larger sand dune desert in the form of the Simpson and the largest sand dune to boot, and they\u2019re just as trackless as the Empty Quarter. And we\u2019ve got them all in one country rather than four.\u00a0 We\u2019ve even got the camels.\u00a0 And a few of our park rangers probably have more experience in driving through sandy desert conditions than Se\u00f1or Torrallardona. OK, top marks to Jag\/Landrover for an attempt to cross the Empty Quarter in record time in a production vehicle rather than some customised thingummy. \u00a0It\u2019s a good road test to see if the new Range Rover will be suitable for these conditions.\u00a0 Those interested in getting a vehicle for Outback operations may be interested in the media releases from Jag\/Land Rover on November 4th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n Or you could just take a look at the results from what could be called the \u201cDown Under Dakar\u201d: the Australasian Safari. This is an annual 4×4 (and dirt bike) race that\u2019s usually double the distance that Range Rover\u2019s attempt, and has been running for the last 28 years. A quick peek at this year\u2019s results reveals not a single Range Rover or Land Rover in the finalists, but plenty of Toyota Hilux<\/a>, Nissan Patrol<\/a>, Isuzu D-Max and Mitsubishi Pajero <\/a>examples, with a few other vehicles thrown in for good measure.<\/p>\n