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Automotive

Nissan Patrol tows 170.9-ton cargo plane to set new Guinness World Record

By Darren Quick
August 22, 2013
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The Nissan Patrol towed the Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane over 50 m
The Guinness World Record was set in the presence of His Excellency Dr. Ghanem Alhajiri, Chairman of Sharjah International Airport
The Nissan Patrol towing the 170.9-ton cargo plane to claim the "heaviest object pulled by any production vehicle" Guinness World Record
The Nissan Patrol towed the Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane over 50 m
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Airplanes seem to be the default standard when automakers want to demonstrate the pulling power of a particular vehicle. Nissan has stuck with this yardstick in using its Patrol 4WD to pull a fully-laden Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane weighing 170.9 tons (155 tonnes) over 50 m (164 ft) to set a new Guinness World Record.

Nissan set the new “heaviest aircraft pulled by a production vehicle” record yesterday at Sharjah International Airport in Dubai, bettering the previous record that was set in 2006 when a Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI towed a Boeing 747 weighing 155 tons (140.6 tonnes).

The Nissan Patrol towing the 170.9-ton cargo plane to claim the "heaviest object pulled by any production vehicle" Guinness World Record

The attempt came about as the result of the “Nissan Patrol Challenge” competition launched in 2012 that asked people in the Middle East to propose ideas to put the vehicle to the test. It is the second Guinness World Record set by Nissan in Dubai this year, with the company’s backlit indoor advertising sign at Dubai International Airport recognized as the world’s largest in February.

"Today Nissan celebrates another landmark day in the Middle East with its second Guinness World Record in eight months,” says Mr. Samir Cherfan, Managing Director, Nissan Middle-East. “When we began this project we encouraged the people of the Middle East to dream up the next and ultimate challenge for the Hero of All Terrain, Nissan Patrol. The overwhelming response has been the inspiration for today's historic events and we thank all who participated and His Excellency and the Sharjah International Airport for their priceless cooperation.”

Source: Nissan

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AutomotiveNissanDubai4WDGuinnessWorld Records
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Darren Quick
Darren's love of technology started in primary school with a Nintendo Game & Watch Donkey Kong (still functioning) and a Commodore VIC 20 computer (not still functioning). In high school he upgraded to a 286 PC, and he's been following Moore's law ever since. This love of technology continues as Managing Editor of New Atlas.
15 comments
RJB
Standard production model or heavily modified clutch/gearbox and reinforced chassis?
bergamot69
Would have to be the latter- I suspect they'd have had to fit some kind of 'underdrive'.
Theoretically, if allowances are made for friction and air resistance, almost any road vehicle could tow almost anything on wheels if geared low enough. Not very fast though, not far, and not repeatedly.
Grunt
I'm at a bit of a loss to understand exactly what this is supposed to prove. As long as the plane's tyres are fully inflated and it's running on tarmac, I would expect virtually any competent 4x4 worthy of the name, i.e. featuring a two speed transfer case, to accomplish this with relative ease.
Slowburn
My 79 Chevy half-ton with an automatic could do that. 50 average office workers could do that if you offered them the right incentive; a jelly doughnut and a plaque probably is not going to do it.
Gripe
Good response Bergamot69.......Pathetic marketing ploy.... have you seen the little vehicles that push these planes in and out of gates? Have you seen the man that pulls a train with his teeth? This is absolutely ridiculous. So it's a record. Utterly useless. Next we will see EZ-G0 golf carts pulling a 747. It means nothing.
Martin Fierro
This is bullshit to sell the Patrol to the Arabs. As others post, any vehicle or small tractor would do the job. "there is no work done on a flat surface" elementary physics law
Ryandroid86
I find longevity more important than initial weight. The Tundra Pulled 150 tons for 1320 feet.
Im sure it could pull 170 tons for 164 feet easy.
Plus none of these records are real life scenarios. Its like Phone benchmarks of the automotive world. Who cares.
Aaron Bockelie
Meh, Unimogs have been doing this for decades.
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/attachments/unimog/221359d1234532701-unimog-airplane-tug-406-tug.jpg
Denis Klanac
Nissan has been doing dumb stuff like this for the last decade, it started when they introduced that tiny little 3 litre diesel to hall a 3 ton behemoth. it was like driving with the park brake on. why don't they just offer a Cummins diesel version?
Darren Forster
It's alright getting the Patrol to tow it, biggest problem is hoping the brakes are strong enough to stop both the patrol and the plane.
Once the plane is moving with parking brakes released it should keep going under it's own momentum causing the car very little stress.
I presume they had something there to stop the plane from rolling straight over the car.
I do like Nissan's though, they are good cars. Since I started driving we've had two Nissan Note's, very good and nicely designed cars, just a shame the new Nissan Note has ruined the a bit, my favourite Nissan has to be when my aunty had a J reg Nissan Primera many years ago, and second favourite had to be my 57 plate Note. We now have 60 plate Note, not quite as nice though as it had it's air conditioning unit changed which made it really confusing to use whilst driving, and also the new design does let a lot of draft in. The only let down we have with our cars which is quite ironic is the towing weight - which is only 750Kg on the 1.6 Automatic :(
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