Land Rover Discovery tows 110-tonne road train across Australian Outback

4 MinutesBy NZ Trucking magazineSeptember 22, 2017

The Land Rover Discovery has taken on a 110-tonne road train and 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 2018 model Discovery to the ultimate towing test.

The Discovery Td6 has a maximum certified towing capacity of 3,500kg on public roads but successfully towed a 110-tonne 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 vast Outback regions and typically carry fuel, mineral ore and cattle between remote rural communities. Strict regulations limit their length to 53.5m, so Land Rover obtained special permission to pull seven trailers and the 12-tonne tractor unit – retained to operate the hydraulic brakes fitted to the trailers.

John Bilato, managing director of haulage specialist G&S Transport, took the wheel for the epic pull.

“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. And the smoothness of the gear changes under that amount of load was genuinely impressive. These road trains are the most efficient form of road haulage on the planet, and using the Discovery made this the most economical of all.”

The extreme test – the latest in a series of impressive towing demonstrations by the brand – was carried out using a Discovery Td6. At its 1989 launch, the original Discovery I was used to pull a train, and last year the Discovery Sport premium compact SUV towed a trio of rail carriages 85ft above the Rhine River.

Land Rover product engineer Quentin Spottiswoode said towing capability has always been an important part of the Discovery‘s DNA and the raw weight of the road train told only half the story.

“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.”

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. The road train itself was even carrying 10-tonnes of ballast in order to hit the magic 110-tonne weight mark.

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/100 km).

For more information on the Discover Td6, visit https://www.landrover.co.uk

Watch Discovery pull a road train here: https://youtu.be/9DsK0SH0h9s

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