Photo: Land Rover
When two vehicles from entirely different classes compete against each other, who is responsible for one of them winning? The car itself, or the driver?
Back in 2016, a Ferrari 458 Italia driven by Fabio Barone went about setting a world record for driving through the 99 turns of the Tianmen Road in China. The Italian and his car drove to the dizzying twists, turns and slopes of the road, stretching for over 11 kilometers (6.8 miles), in 10 minutes 31 seconds.
Last week, a Range Rover Sport SVR went for the throat of the sports car. Driven by Panasonic Jaguar Racing’s Ho-Pin Tung, the SUV managed to go through the same course in 9 minutes 51 seconds.
Now, to be fair, the SUV is a touch more powerful than the sports car. The Ferrari 458 Italia is powered by a 4.5-liter V8, developing 570 hp, while the SVR comes packing a 5.0-liter supercharged V8 engine, the most powerful in the brand’s history, developing 575 hp.
To be even more fair, in theory at least, Ferrari’s lower center of gravity should have allowed it to negotiate the turns better and faster than the Range Rover. The lower mass of the sports car should have made a difference too.
But, all in all, we could concede the two vehicles balance each other out regarding performance. Could it be the drivers, then, that made the difference?
Fabio Barone is not a professional race driver, but he is the president of the Ferrari Club Passione Rossa, a social media group with a passion for the Prancing Horse. He has, to some extent, experience with driving on challenging roads.
At the other end, Ho-Pin Tung is a professional racer and Le Mans class winner. He is also the guy that drove a Range Rover Sport PHEV up a bunch of stairs (999 steps, to be precise), to the top of the Tianmen Mountain in China, at times referred to as Heaven's Gate.
Last week, a Range Rover Sport SVR went for the throat of the sports car. Driven by Panasonic Jaguar Racing’s Ho-Pin Tung, the SUV managed to go through the same course in 9 minutes 51 seconds.
Now, to be fair, the SUV is a touch more powerful than the sports car. The Ferrari 458 Italia is powered by a 4.5-liter V8, developing 570 hp, while the SVR comes packing a 5.0-liter supercharged V8 engine, the most powerful in the brand’s history, developing 575 hp.
To be even more fair, in theory at least, Ferrari’s lower center of gravity should have allowed it to negotiate the turns better and faster than the Range Rover. The lower mass of the sports car should have made a difference too.
But, all in all, we could concede the two vehicles balance each other out regarding performance. Could it be the drivers, then, that made the difference?
Fabio Barone is not a professional race driver, but he is the president of the Ferrari Club Passione Rossa, a social media group with a passion for the Prancing Horse. He has, to some extent, experience with driving on challenging roads.
At the other end, Ho-Pin Tung is a professional racer and Le Mans class winner. He is also the guy that drove a Range Rover Sport PHEV up a bunch of stairs (999 steps, to be precise), to the top of the Tianmen Mountain in China, at times referred to as Heaven's Gate.
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