- Range Rover Sport will open the legendary course to strong international entry at this Sunday's 91st running of the 'Race To The Clouds'
- Leading role at one of the world's most unforgiving driving competitions for Land Rover's fastest, most responsive and agile vehicle to date
- By appearing at Pikes Peak, the Range Rover Sport revisits the scene of its own record‑setting run earlier this month
- A four‑minute documentary film showing the Range Rover Sport's SUV record‑run can be viewed on YouTube from today
(COLORADO SPRINGS, CO) ‑ June 28, 2013 ‑ The all‑new Range Rover Sport has been confirmed as the official Pace Car for this Sunday's 91st running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Known as the 'Race To The Clouds,' the annual event on America's Mountain in Colorado is famous for its spectacular location and unforgiving nature, with much of the 12.4‑mile course lined by sheer drops down the mountainside.
As the course‑opening car, the Range Rover Sport will revisit the scene of its own record‑setting run earlier this month, when it powered to a new best time up the hill for a production‑standard Sport Utility Vehicle and broke the long standing record for any type of production‑standard vehicle. The Range Rover Sport negotiated the 12.42‑mile course, which has 156 corners and ascends from 9,390 feet (2,860m) above sea level to 14,110 feet (4,300m), in just 12 minutes 35.61 seconds ‑ an average speed, from a standing start, of 59.17 mph (95.23 kph). The record was set in a Range Rover Sport powered by a 510hp 5.0‑liter supercharged V8 engine, the vehicle altered from production specification only in the fitment of a roll cage and harness seatbelts to meet racing safety requirements.
On the record run, the Range Rover Sport was driven by Pikes Peak specialist Paul Dallenbach. This Sunday, the pace car will be driven by veteran motorsports competitor and official Gay Smith, of Colorado Springs. Smith was the 1974 Rookie of the Year on Pikes Peak and has served on the event's Board of Directors for 20 years.
This year's Pikes Peak International Hill Climb has attracted 157 competitors (70 cars and 87 motorcycles), with drivers and riders from 16 nations. The entry is headlined by World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb.
Timed runs start on Sunday, June 30 at 8:00am MDT. For the first time, the event is being broadcast to fans around the world via the Internet, on RedBull.TV.
Internet visitors can also, starting from this weekend, watch a newly‑released four‑minute documentary film about the Range Rover Sport's record run at Pikes Peak earlier this month, with spectacular views from inside and outside the vehicle. This can be seen on Land Rover's YouTube channel.
Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
The Pikes Peak car and motorcycle hill climb competition is held annually on a 12.42‑mile (19.99 km) section of the road that runs up to the summit of Pikes Peak Mountain, 14 miles north‑west of the town of Colorado Springs.
First run in 1916, Pikes Peak is the USA's second‑oldest motorsport event. Some of America's most famous racing drivers ‑ Mario Andretti, Bobby Unser, Rick Mears, and Al Unser ‑ have won the competition, as have internationally acclaimed rally drivers such as Michele Mouton, Ari Vatanen, Per Eklund and Stig Blomqvist.
All‑New Range Rover Sport
Developed alongside the highly‑acclaimed Range Rover, the all‑new Range Rover Sport delivers the brand's best‑ever on‑road dynamics together with class‑leading, genuine Land Rover all‑terrain capability, while presenting customers with a more assertive and muscular exterior, more luxurious interior and the flexibility provided by the option of occasional third row seating.
Exploiting Land Rover's breakthrough lightweight suspension design and innovative dynamic chassis technologies, the All‑New Range Rover Sport's first‑in‑class aluminium architecture achieves a weight saving of more than 800 lbs.
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About Land Rover
Land Rover, the British maker of Land Rover and Range Rover sport utility vehicles, is renowned for providing its clientele with some of the most luxurious and capable vehicles in the world. Every Land Rover vehicle is equally at home both on and off road, and in any setting; be it in the heart of the city, or traversing the countryside. Today's Land Rover lineup includes the legendary Defender, LR2 (Freelander 2), LR4 (Discovery 4), Range Rover Sport, Range Rover and Range Rover Evoque. Land Rover designs, engineers, and manufactures their vehicles in the United Kingdom. Land Rover is fully engaged with sustainability initiatives and social concerns with continuous involvement in environmental and community programs. For more information visit the official Land Rover website at http://www.landroverusa.com.
About Jaguar Land Rover
•The United States is one of the leading global markets for both Jaguar and Land Rover
•Jaguar Land Rover employs 25 000 people and sells vehicles in 170 countries around the world
• Jaguar Land Rover has two state of the art engineering and design facilities and three advanced manufacturing plants in the UK
• In the 2012/13 fiscal year,Jaguar Land Rover has reported revenues of $23.8 billion, up 17% year on year ($20.4 billion last year)
•Jaguar Land Rover has test facilities acrossthe USAin the following states: California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Washington D.C.
• Headquartered in Mahwah, New Jersey in the United States, Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC has offices across the USA and Canada. Jaguar Land Rover has offices in the following locations: California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Washington D.C.
• Jaguar Land Rover is represented by more than 330 independently operated retail outletsin the USA