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Let's assume for a minute that you're about to drive a two-and-some tonne Range Rover over a bridge. Nothing too unusual about that, right?
What if we told you that the bridge, a five-metre span over a river in the Chinese city of Suzhou, used no bolts to hold it in place? No glue either? And was made of carefully folded, self-supporting paper. Yes, paper.
Well, this is exactly the challenge undertaken by Land Rover Experience chief instructor Chris Zhou for a publicity stunt ahead of the Guangzhou motor show. To celebrate the Range Rover's 45th birthday, Land Rover and specialist paper supplier James Cropper PLC, built the bridge in the city of Suzhou - which, thanks to its canals and waterways, is called by some the 'Venice of the East.'
Zhou drove the Range Rover (which no, didn't have tyres filled with helium) over the carefully prepared bridge using Land Rover's new All Terrain Progress Control, a new system that allows the driver to set a speed he wants the car to drive at and then sits back and lets the computers do the rest. No slip, no slide, no surge. Clever stuff.
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Nick Rogers, Director Group Engineering, Jaguar Land Rover, said: "China is an important market for Range Rover, so we have picked the perfect place to celebrate 45 years of our luxury SUV family. Range Rover's advanced lightweight body and peerless all-terrain capability were crucial factors in making this unique drive possible."
Artist and paper bridge designer, Steve Messam, said: "Paper structures capable of supporting people have been built before but nothing on this scale has ever been attempted. It's pushing engineering boundaries, just like the Range Rover, and the ease and composure with which the vehicle negotiated the arch was genuinely breathtaking."