Chery and JLR’s Freelander 8 sets new hybrid altitude record

The Freelander 8 crossover, developed through a collaboration between Chery and Jaguar Land Rover, reached an altitude of 6,002.33 meters, setting a new world record for hybrid vehicles, IThome reported.

The previous record belonged to the BYD Leopard 5 (Fangchengbao Bao 5), which reached an altitude of 5,980.05 meters.

Climbing 6,002 meters

During the test, the Freelander 8 covered approximately 1,480 meters of mountainous terrain, including a 200-meter vertical climb. At high altitude, where oxygen levels were approximately 40% of those at sea level, the 1.5-liter engine-generator retained 80% of its power-generation capacity.

The rear electric motor, paired with a two-speed gearbox, increased torque by 50%. Ultimately, the crossover navigated the rocky terrain and climbed to an altitude of more than 6 kilometers without sustaining chassis damage, earning a Guinness World Records title. The result exceeded BYD’s previous record by just 22.28 meters.

Freelander goes on sale

Sales of the Freelander 8 began in China on Sept. 3. The starting price, including special offers, is 290,000 yuan ($43,230), while the top-end version costs 380,000 yuan ($56,646).

The crossover was developed in collaboration with Huawei, CATL and Qualcomm. Its features include an 800-volt architecture, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8397 chip and Huawei’s Qiankun ADS 5 driver-assistance system.

The Freelander 8 is available in five- and six-seat configurations. It measures 5,118 or 5,185 millimeters in length, depending on the version, 2,050 millimeters in width and 1,898 millimeters in height, with a wheelbase of 3,040 millimeters.