In 2016, a Ferrari 458 Italia driven by Fabio Barone ripped through the tight, twisting ribbon of asphalt known as Tianmen Road.
Located in China, this 7.0-mile stretch features 99 sharp corners, sheer drop offs, and little room for error. Barone completed his run in just 10:31. And now that run is history, because it was just bested by a Land Rover.
Not just any Land Rover, of course. The brilliantly blue Land Rover the broke the Ferrari's record is a Range Rover Sport SVR, which means it's equipped with a 5.0-liter supercharged V-8 engine that cranks out 575 horsepower. Apparently that's enough power to blow the doors off the time set by the Ferrari. This Range Rover, driven Formula E racer Ho-Pin Tung, completed the run in just 9:51.
Tung has quite the list of wins under his belt with regards to his motorsport career. In fact, he finished first in class at the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans. That drive was good for second place overall. Now Tung has taken his talents to Formula E where he's helping the Jaguar team in silent battle mode. That's probably a good fit, as Ho-Pin clearly has a handle on the larger JLR products.
Is it possible that a Ferrari driver could take another whack at this record? Certainly. But until that happens, Land Rover and Tung have the fastest time to clear that 7.0-mile distance. And it's certainly quite a bit more remarkable to see someone make the run in a large Range Rover than it is in a smaller sports car. What's also more interesting about the Range Rover, is that it can ditch the road route entirely and just take the stairs.
