Range Rover’s 45th birthday gift to itself? A drive across a paper bridge

Is it just me or is everyone going a bit nutty for paper these days. We’ve had a cardboard Lexus, an origami Nissan Juke, and now a Range Rover driving across a bridge made entirely of paper.

The stunt, performed in Suzhou China, was orchestrated as part of the luxury marque’s 45th birthday celebrations.

“Paper structures capable of supporting people have been built before but nothing on this scale has ever been attempted,” said artist and paper bridge designer, Steve Messam. “It’s pushing engineering boundaries, just like the Range Rover, and the ease and composure with which the vehicle negotiated the arch was genuinely breathtaking.”

Construction of the bridge began with the assembly of a pair of specially designed wooden abutments. Paper was then stacked on these supports using a temporary framework to hold them in place. Once complete, this was removed leaving a freestanding 3.4-metre high paper arch spanning five metres.