Land Rover’s first fully electric Range Rover has been undergoing rigorous tests, tackling extreme heat in the dunes of the United Arab Emirates during its most challenging testing phase yet.
Prototypes are undergoing extreme trials in temperatures surpassing 50°C and humidity levels approaching 90 per cent, pushing the limits of performance, efficiency, and refinement. However, it is worth noting these kinds of tests have been conducted on petrol and diesel models for decades.
This stage of testing mainly concentrated on the Range Rover Electric’s newly-developed ‘Intelligent Torque Management’ and thermal management systems. These features ensure the SUV maintains power delivery and cabin comfort even in punishing conditions, such as prolonged climbs on fine desert sand.
Engineers report the systems can respond to wheel slip in just 1 millisecond – compared with 100 milliseconds in previous systems. Executive director of product engineering, Thomas Müller, said:
“Balancing cabin cooling and battery performance while navigating fine sand at low speeds is no small feat. Our testing has proven that Range Rover Electric matches, and in some cases surpasses, the performance of its internal combustion engine equivalents.”
The testing included scaling Sharjah’s iconic ‘Big Red’ dune; a 91-metre sand formation regarded as a benchmark for durability and capability. Range Rover Electric successfully completed the climb five consecutive times (unfortunately, video and photos of the efforts were not included in the press release) – meeting the same standards applied across the Range Rover lineup.
Other trials included city cycles under direct sunlight, testing the SUV’s thermal systems for everyday driving scenarios. The electric model is being described as delivering seamless performance, highlighting the durability of its advanced battery cooling and heat distribution systems.
Set to debut for client reservations in 2025, the Range Rover Electric is poised to uphold the brand’s renowned “go anywhere” ethos.
