#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

- Dipayan Dutta

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.