A Solihull-built Land Rover or a railway truck weighing the equivalent of a Boeing 757 – which one is your money on?

Well, the plucky Discovery Sport won out, towing the three luxury train carriages weighing more than 100 tonnes – 220,000 pounds – along a railway track.

The six-mile journey took place in Rhine region of Switzerland to put the Discovery Sport’s pulling power to the ultimate test. Though the Discovery Sport has a certified maximum towing weight of 2.5 tonnes, it was able to pull 60 times its own weight.

Karl Richards, a lead engineer at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Towing is in Land Rover’s DNA, and despite Discovery Sport being the smallest model in the range, it has proved its exceptional towing capabilities.

“Over the years, we have introduced game-changing towing technologies to take the stress out of towing for our customers. I’ve spent most of my career travelling to the most punishing parts of the world to test Land Rovers in grueling conditions, yet this is the most extreme towing test I’ve ever done.”

The train-pulling feat saw the Land Rover and its mammoth load cross the River Rhine on the dramatic Hemishofen bridge – a historic steel span measuring 935 feet long and soaring 85 feet above the valley floor.

JLR said no modifications were necessary to the drivetrain whatsoever for the test.