Khardung La is more than just one of the highest motorable roads in the world; the paved road that you see today isn’t even fifty years old. Its rich history extend far in the past from when it was a caravan trail for livestock and an essential route of trade connecting India to the Far East. Today, with many more passes coming up in the region the once mighty Khardung La isn’t even among the top ten passes in the world, but back when it was constructed it was a testament to the technical prowess and determination of India’s Border Roads Organisation, and the eighteen brave people lost their lives to make this road a reality. to date it serves as a case study in laying infrastructure in inhospitable terrain. Naturally, it made the perfect starting point for the northern leg of our #OdeToOutstanding drive, with a car that very much reflected this indomitable spirit, the Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 Coupe.
Back in the day, anything with an AMG badge was a track-only monster that was best used under controlled conditions. Modern-day AMGs though are far from trailer queens that eat themselves fifteen minutes after you’ve put your foot down. They are engineered to be durable, reliable and usable on the day-to-day, and the SUVs aren’t just track-built versions of their standard sibling but they build on them to be functional SUVs with explosive performance when you need it. This is why we chose the AMG GLE 53 for this leg of the journey to prove just what a modern AMG is capable of. An ode to our outstanding country through an exceptional SUV that would humble many sports cars, and just as many pedigreed SUVs with a flick of the e-lift switch.
Esta historia es de la edición August 2024 de Auto Today.
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Esta historia es de la edición August 2024 de Auto Today.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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MG Comet
The Comet continues to be a workhorse for the entire Auto Today team, and this was proved quite clearly when the team head out to a celebratory lunch.
Dirty Dancer
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Linea Urus
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MUSEO LAMBORGHINI
At its headquarters in Sant'Agata Bolognese where it also has its production facilities, the super car manufacturer, Lamborghini also runs a small museum that houses some of the most iconic names in automotive history. Yogendra Pratap dropped in to check out not only the iconic names but also some of the concepts and art that draws thousands of car lovers to this sleepy little town just outside of the Italian city of Bologna
#OdeToOutstanding - south
The longest leg of the #OdeToOutstanding drive had Dhruv Saxena drive the dynamic Mercedes-Benz GLA from the literal edge of the Indian mainland surrounded by the Indian Ocean across the heart of the country to the national capital marveling at the incredible natural beauty, diversity and history of south and central India
#OdeToOutstanding - west
The western leg of the #OdeToOutstanding drive had Anagh Bhaskar take on the mighty desert region with the electric Mercedes-Benz EQB 350
#OdeToOutstanding - east
The eastern leg of the #OdeToOutstanding drive starts in the lush green forests of West Bengal. But there is more than just that. Rahul Ghosh tells you all about the outstanding drive in the Mercedes-Benz GLC
#OdeToOutstanding - north
The northern leg of the #OdeToOutstanding drive saw Dipayan Dutta take on the mighty Himalayas with the equally intimidating Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 4Matic+ Coupe
Dirt magnet
The Lexus NX has a new trim called the Overtrail. We took the SUV to a few trails and drove through mud to put its name to the test
MORE FIREPOWER
Alongside the EQA that featured in the last issue, Mercedes-Benz also launched the facelifted EQB. Here is how the updated SUV holds up