Chinese automaker attempted to replicate Land Rover's famous stunt and failed
The Chinese company Chery tried to replicate the sensational marketing stunt of the British Land Rover, but the attempt ended in failure and forced the automaker to apologize to a wide audience.
What happened
In 2018, the Range Rover Sport managed to climb 999 steps to the 'Heaven's Gate' attraction in China (video below), thereby reinforcing Land Rover's reputation as a true off-road vehicle manufacturer. Chery decided not to limit its models to just an external resemblance to the British brand, but literally borrowed its advertising scenario, only to fail.
Chery Fulwin X3L did not reach the end of the stairs: about three quarters of the way up there was a loud pop, a part fell off the vehicle, the SUV lost control, veered to the right, lost traction, stopped, then began rolling backward and crashed into a barrier. Here's how it looked from the outside:
The cause of the fiasco was a safety cable that snapped and got tangled in the right front wheel. The company acknowledged that the incident revealed shortcomings in risk assessment, apologized to tourists, and promised to restore the damage and compensate them.
Chery Fulwin X3L. Photo: Chery
The Chery Fulwin X3L is equipped with a powertrain featuring a 1.5-liter gasoline engine and a 33.7 kWh battery. It is available in both all-wheel-drive and rear-wheel-drive versions. In the top configuration, the electric motors' power reaches 422 hp, and torque is 505 Nm. The electric-only range is 205 km, while the total autonomy is 1080 km. Notable features also include a 225 mm ground clearance, approach/departure angles of 22° and 30°, and an in-place turn function.
Source: Carscoops
