CROSSING THE GREAT DIVIDE

We’re clawing our way to the top of the 13,000 ft. Imogene Pass over the top of Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, the outside wheel of our 2011 Range Rover just inches from the crumbling edge of a 1,000 ft. drop. All I keep telling myself is ‘Don’t look down’, writes Chris Marchand, Executive VP, Marketing and Sales for Land Rover North America.

With its Terrain Response™ system switch turned to the ‘Grass, gravel, snow’ setting, our Range Rover is clawing its way up this intimidating, rock‑strewn trail like a mountain goat with crampons, its air suspension softening every jolt and jar. But still, there’s no way I’m looking down.

Welcome to the Land Rover Colorado Experience, a two‑day, all off‑road drive from Telluride to the historic mining town of Ouray and back; a chance to showcase our latest 2011 Range Rover and LR4 to a group of adventure‑hungry U.S. media.

As our vehicles have become ever more luxurious and richer in high‑luxury content and craftsmanship, it’s all too easy to forget their remarkable off‑road capability and technical sophistication. Occasionally we need an Imogene Pass to remind journalists of their quite remarkable skills.

The Colorado Experience also marked something of an anniversary for Land Rover. It was 21 years ago to the month (August 1989) that a fleet of eight Range Rovers set out on the Great Divide Expedition, becoming the first motorized vehicles to complete a north‑to‑south crossing of the 1,123mile U.S. Continental Divide.

While our Colorado Experience drive covered maybe only 80 miles of that original expedition route, it showcased a couple of key improvements to our patented Terrain Response™ system for 2011 – Hill Start Assist and Gradient Acceleration Control (GAC).

Hill Start Assist holds the initial driver‑generated brake pressure long enough for your foot to move from the brake pedal to the throttle, without the car rolling backwards.

As for Gradient Acceleration Control, it’s like having a guardian angel on steep descents. If, for some reason, the driver doesn’t have Hill Descent Control engaged, GAC senses the vehicle accelerating downhill, it pressurizes the brake system and holds the speed down to 3 mph for up to 20 seconds, allowing the driver to regain proper control.

On the infamous Black Bear Pass between Silverton and Telluride, with its truly heart‑stopping drops, our Range Rover picked its way down over the slippery, unstable shale surface without putting a wheel out of place.

Next year, we’re planning to offer the Land Rover Colorado Experience to small groups of our customers, giving them the chance to experience the true capabilities of their own vehicles.

One thing is for sure, if I join them and we climb to the top of Imogene Pass, there is still no way I’ll be looking down.