SILK TRAIL 2013
16,000 KM / 53 DAYS RANGE ROVER HYBRID
www.landrover.com/silktrail
The Silk Trail expedition will cover 16,000 km in just 53 days, stopping off at checkpoints along the way before reaching the final destination in India.
INTRODUCTION To celebrate the arrival of the Range Rover Hybrid, Land Rover is embarking on an epic voyage, starting at Range Rover’s home in Birmingham, England and travelling overland to brand owner Tata’s HQ in Mumbai, India. In a convoy of three Range Rover Hybrids, the 16,000km expedition will cross 13 countries between the UK and India, tackling some of the world’s most challenging roads in the process. The journey will also serve as a final engineering development drive before the official sign-off for series production. A stunning combination of mountain passes, arid desert, high altitude, chaotic city streets, heat, humidity and wilderness, the Silk Trail will provide the perfect testing ground for the Range Rover Hybrid, allowing the engineers to thoroughly put the latest addition to the Land Rover stable through its paces. Each segment of the route holds challenges that will highlight the class-leading breadth of capability and versatility of the Range Rover Hybrid. As the convoy aims to overcome the wildly varying conditions of the expedition, the peerless four-wheel drive and acclaimed Terrain Response 2® system of each vehicle will play a significant role. With the objective of reducing fuel consumption to a minimum without compromising performance, the Range Rover Hybrid’s SDV6 diesel engine – combined with electric drive – will deliver stunning SDV8 performance but with 26 percent lower CO2 emissions, equating to an impressive 169g/km and 44.1mpg on the combined cycle. Land Rover has been exploring the planet since the debut of its first model in 1948. With the new Range Rover Hybrid combining significantly lower CO2 emissions with uncompromised performance, the Silk Trail expedition will express Land Rover’s commitment to its vehicles as well as to the environment. For more information please visit www.landrover.com/silktrail Join the conversation - #RangeRoverHybrid
RANGE ROVER HYBRID AT-A-GLANCE
A true Land Rover with uncompromised capability Smooth electric drive enhances refinement 340PS and a outstanding 700 Nm torque SDV6 delivering SDV8 performance with 26% lower CO2 emissions Uncompromised cabin comfort and load space
THE ROUTE STAGE 1
1340km
STAGE 2
1760km
STAGE 3
752km
STAGE 4
1532km
STAGE 5
2123km
STAGE 6
597km
STAGE 7
1195km
STAGE 8
1220km
STAGE 9
477km
SOLIHULL, UK -BERLIN, GERMANY
BERLIN - ODESSA, UKRAINE
ODESSA - YALTA, UKRAINE
YALTA - ASTRAKAHN, RUSSIA
ASTRAKAHN - BUKHARA, UZBEKISTAN (VIA KAZAKHSTAN)
BUKHARA - TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN
TASHKENT - BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN
KATHMANDU, NEPAL - DELHI, INDIA
DELHI – JAIPUR, INDIA
STAGE 10
JAIPUR – MUMBAI, INDIA
1227km
START
SOLIHULL - UK
UK
POLAND UKRAINE
KAZAKHSTAN
GERMANY
UZBEKISTAN
CHINA KYRGYZSTAN NEPAL
INDIA
FINISH
MUMBAI - INDIA
SILK TRAIL 2013
STAGE 1 SOLIHULL, UK – BERLIN, GERMANY DISTANCE : 1340km DURATION: 4 days TERRAIN : Tarmac plus off-road course
Setting off from the ‘home of the legend’ at Land Rover’s base in Solihull, the expedition makes its way first to London where the convoy will venture through the streets of London for a photo shoot, before heading over into mainland Europe. The convoy will head to Wülfrath in Germany where the trio of Range Rover Hybrids will tackle the off-road course at Land Rover Europe. The expedition will then continue through Germany before arriving in Berlin.
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SILK TRAIL 2013
STAGE 2 BERLIN – ODESSA, UKRAINE DISTANCE : 1760km DURATION: 4 days TERRAIN : Tarmac
The route heads towards the second largest country in Europe, Ukraine, where the convoy will pass through Poland’s glorious former capital, Krakow, experiencing the city’s captivating mix of Gothic, Renaissance and baroque style. The scenic route continues as the expedition reaches Ukraine and passes through Lviv before arriving at Odessa, where it will visit the Potemkin Stairs, considered a formal entrance into the city from the direction of the Black Sea.
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SILK TRAIL 2013
STAGE 3 ODESSA – YALTA, UKRAINE DISTANCE : 752km DURATION: 4 days TERRAIN : Tarmac/Gravel/Sand/Light off-road
The expedition begins to discover some of the Range Rover Hybrid’s off-road capabilities as the route leaves behind picturesque Odessa and embarks on a stunning coastal drive along the Black Sea coastline, taking in the sun-baked scenery on the way to Yalta in the Ukraine. Before arriving at the final destination the convoy will visit the former Soviet-era Black Sea Fleet naval base and the Panorama Museum of Sevastopol, one of the Crimea’s most attended museums, where the expedition crew will discover the heroism of Sevastopol’s defenders during the Crimean War of 1853-1856.
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SILK TRAIL 2013
STAGE 4 YALTA – ASTRAKAHN, RUSSIA DISTANCE : 1532km DURATION: 5 days TERRAIN : Tarmac/Gravel/Sand/Light off-road
The culture changes dramatically as the route continues east into Russia, the largest country on Earth and the world’s eighth most populous nation. En route, the convoy will pay a visit to the city of Elista with its strong Buddhist culture and the breath-taking Sea of Azov – the former Russian Riviera – as the legendary Silk Trail finally begins.
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SILK TRAIL 2013
STAGE 5 ASTRAKAHN – BUKHARA, UZBEKISTAN (VIA KAZAKHSTAN) DISTANCE : 2123km DURATION: 4 days TERRAIN : Tarmac/Gravel/Sand/Mud/Off-road
It is at this juncture that the Silk Trail commences, the expedition finally getting under way as the route emerges from Russia and ventures into the vast plains and mountainous horizons of the ’Stans. First up are the largely unexplored outlands of Kazakhstan – wilderness in the truest, and vastest, sense of the word. Once into the landlocked Republic of Uzbekistan, independent since 1991, the expedition enters its first monumental desert, complete with craggy off-road terrain and a spectacular barren landscape. The landlocked Aral Sea is the next stop. Having evaporated rapidly in recent years, the litter of deserted ships across the dry landscape conjures up sombre images of a once-thriving sea community.
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SILK TRAIL 2013
STAGE 6 BUKHARA – TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN DISTANCE : 597km DURATION: 3 days TERRAIN : Tarmac/Gravel/Sand/Mud/Off-road
Working its way through Uzbekistan, the route continues onto classic Silk Trail territory. After negotiating swathes of challenging terrain, in the most extreme conditions, the convoy will head past Uzbekistan’s second largest city and capital of Samarqand Province, Samarkand, which lies on the centre of the Silk Road between China and the West. The expedition will pause here to take in the city’s magnificent architecture before continuing on to the stage’s final destination, Tashkent.
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SILK TRAIL 2013
STAGE 7 TASHKENT – BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN DISTANCE : 1195km DURATION: 5 days TERRAIN : Gravel/Sand/Off-road
The last stop in the ‘Stans is Kyrgyzstan – about as far from the ocean as you can travel, where the Silk Trail becomes a purely offroad affair. The expedition will visit a silk mill before tackling more of the Trail’s dusty mountain passes. The route will also take the convoy through eagle-hunting country, where expedition travellers may be fortunate enough to see an eagle winging its way through the vacant skies.
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SILK TRAIL 2013
STAGE 8 KATHMANDU, NEPAL – DELHI, INDIA DISTANCE : 1220km DURATION: 6 days TERRAIN : Tarmac/Gravel/Off-road
Stage 8 promises to be one of the most diverse sections of the route. Long off-road sections will test the Range Rover Hybrid’s four-wheel drive system once again while each vehicle’s Wade Sensing feature will come into play when the expedition makes a border crossing across a river bed. It is then man’s turn to challenge the expedition when the route wends its way into the heart of India and the total chaos of Delhi’s round-the-clock rush hour traffic.
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SILK TRAIL 2013
STAGE 9 DELHI – JAIPUR, INDIA DISTANCE : 477km DURATION: 4 days TERRAIN : Tarmac
The journey takes a gentler, more touristic approach in India when the convoy is kept safely on the relatively smooth public highway. A battle with the never-ending Delhi rush hour will test the patience of the crew but a visit to the Taj Mahal will calm the collective mind as the expedition nears the end of the Silk Trail.
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SILK TRAIL 2013
STAGE 10 JAIPUR – MUMBAI, INDIA DISTANCE : 1227km DURATION: 5 days TERRAIN : Tarmac
The end is nigh as the expedition hits the final straight. Mumbai’s chaotic and traffic-clogged city streets won’t make it an easy cruise to the finish line but the incredible cable-stayed Sealink bridge that will take the convoy into India’s most populous city will add some extra shine to an already gleaming accomplishment. After leaving the UK a month and a half earlier, having passed through 13 countries and six time zones, the expedition will finally arrive at the finishing point outside the Gateway of India at the home of Land Rover’s owner, Tata. There a much-deserved VIP celebration will await, an apt conclusion to a successful completion of the legendary Silk Trail.
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SILK TRAIL 2013
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