Man and Machine put to the G4 Challenge

With Porsche, Volkswagen, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz getting into the luxury SUV market, Land Rover has created the G4 Challenge to re-assert the dominance of its vehicles in some of the most far-flung and remote locations known to man.

Started in 2003 and held every 3 years, most recently in early 2006, the G4 Challenge brings an international team of 18 men (women are not excluded, but I guess it’s a “man” thing to go into the wilderness) together, and pits them against geographical challenges in four areas of the world.

Where Land Rover vehicles come in is at each location where the conditions are so rugged and remote that getting to each challenge itself involves handling a Land Rover vehicle through some really tough situations. There are four stages in each Challenge, and each features a Defender, Freelander, Discovery or Range Rover.

The Challenge in 2006 started in Thailand, moving on to Laos, and then to South America, concluding in Bolivia. Participants came from all over the world, and included two from Asia – Takeshi Sugiyama from Japan, and Victor Huang from Taiwan. The last Challenge was won by South African, Martin Dreyer.

Still used by the majority of the military forces in the world, the Land Rover mystique has done much promote the “go anywhere” romance of owning an SUV.

Now that many “Johnny-come-lately’s” are wanting a piece of the SUV pie, it’s good to know that one can still go just about anywhere in a Land Rover.

Check the exciting G4 videos out at : http://www.landroverG4challenge.com

Credits: Justin_Lee