About Land Rover

Land Rover – a British manufacturer of off-road cars and SUVs operating since 1948. Belongs to and is part of the Tata Motors automotive group and has co-founded the Jaguar Land Rover alliance since 2013.

Company history

The Land Rover has been built by Rover since 1948. Production started in England, but soon Land Rovers were built under license in Australia, Spain, Belgium and Germany, among others. This was because these countries needed large batches of off-road vehicles for the army and the police, among others. In Spain, the Land Rovers were built by Santana Motor SA , in Belgium by Minerva and in Germany by Tempo.

The Rover factory, which was run in 1947 by two brothers, Maurice and Spencer Wilks, had overcapacity after the war, as it mainly produced military goods for years. In 1948, the brothers rebuilt the factory. They made a car that could be used in more areas than the Willys Jeep . To do this, they disassembled their old Willys Jeep and built their own SUV, the Land Rover, with new and improved parts. As a result, the very first Land Rovers still technically looked a lot like the Willys Jeep.

The Land Rover was initially produced by Rover. In 1967 Rover became part of Leyland Motors Ltd, later British Leyland (BL). In 1975, Land Rover became a separate operating company within BL. The Rover Group became part of British Aerospace in 1986 , and was acquired in 1994 by BMW which split off Land Rover and sold it to the Ford Motor Company in 2000. The latter sold the brand in April 2008 to the Indian Tata Motors. Together with Jaguar, the company is housed in Jaguar Land Rover.

Range Rover

The prototype was called Velar (from V Eight LAndRover). The whole design was based on the installation of the Rover V8 engine, which Rover had bought from Buick.

The Range Rover was presented to the press on June 17, 1970. The Range Rover was ahead of its time with all-round coil springs and permanent all- wheel drive. The first model existed between 1970 and 1995. It was the first SUV even before this buzzword was introduced. The car was an all-terrain vehicle that had better road holding and a more luxurious interior. Despite its fuel-efficient V8 petrol engine, the car remained popular throughout the 1970s and beyond.

The Range Rover Evoque was first shown as a concept car at the 2008 North American International Auto Show, under the name Land Rover LRX. Production of the car started in 2011.

Range Rover Models

The current model range includes:

• Range Rover (third generation)
• Range Rover Sport
• Range Rover Velar
• Range Rover Evoque

The first Land Rover was presented to the public on April 30, 1948 during the Amsterdam international motor show (now the AutoRAI ). At the time there was only one model, which was referred to as Series I only afterwards – namely from the introduction of the Series II on April 30, 1958. The 80-inch wheelbase that applied to this type later inspired Land Rovers. denote with names like 80 “, 86”, 88 “and 109”.

In 1954, the wheelbase was increased from 80 inches (2032 mm) to 86 inches (2184 mm). An extended model with a wheelbase of 107 inches (2718 mm) also became available, initially only in a pick-up version.

A further change was made in 1956, when both models were extended to 88 (2235 mm) and 109 inch (2768 mm) wheelbases to create space for the new petrol, diesel and LPG to be introduced later .

Series II

Increasing competition, including that of Austin Gipsy, announced in February 1958, made it necessary to replace the Series I with a more modern model. The Series II was therefore introduced on April 30, 1958 – exactly 10 years after the first presentation of the Series I. This model was built until August 31, 1961.

Series IIA, “bugeye”, “late IIa”

The Series IIA was introduced in September 1961. It was a small change, namely the increase of the 2.0 liter diesel engine to 2286 cc. A series II and IIa are therefore virtually indistinguishable.

The first types of Land Rovers (series I, II and IIA) have the headlights between the fenders. This changed after circa 1968. Depending on the market the car was intended for, the headlights were sometimes moved to the mudguards. From early 1968, adapted laws for both the Dutch and the American market required a minimum distance between the headlights that could not be realized in the old position.

For example, in 1968 an intermediate model was created for these markets in which the convex headlamps were mounted flat in the front screens as a temporary measure to meet the requirements of those markets. The model is named after this “bugeye” or “transitional SIIa” . To mask the old position of the headlights, this model got its own grille panel and grille.

With the introduction of the “late IIa” type in 1969, the car got the same appearance regardless of the destination country, with the headlights in the fenders. With this change, the car got a new type of grille again; a metal grid in the form of a plus sign.

Series III

Outwardly little changed when the IIa was succeeded by the Series III in October 1971. The changes were mainly due to stricter safety requirements. From the outside, the previously far-projecting hinges were replaced by a flatter version. The mounting of the folding windshield was also moved in for security reasons. The most visible change was the new plastic grille. Internally, the dashboard was more ergonomic and covered with soft plastic.

In 1979, financial support from the British government enabled the development of a new top model; the “stage one V8” . In that year, the 2.6 liter six-cylinder petrol engine was replaced by the 3.5 liter V8 petrol engine as used in the Range Rover. To create space for this larger engine, this model got a modified and flatter nose.

Land Rover 101

The Land Rover 101 Forward Control was specially developed for the English army . The military needed an off-road vehicle that had a higher payload than a standard Land Rover. Furthermore, the vehicle had to be able to tow a powered trailer or a light cannon. The vehicle had to have enough room for the crew of the piece, eight people, or for ammunition and other necessary equipment. The vehicle entered production in 1972, but most were built between 1974 and 1978. Total production was approximately 2500 copies. All vehicles were produced at the Land Rover plant in Solihull. Vehicles were divested in the 1990s and many are now privately owned.

90/110 / Defender

In 1983, the Series III (which was still manufactured until 1985) was followed by a completely redesigned model, called “110” for its 110 inch (2794 mm) wheelbase. The 90 inch (2286 mm) and 127 inch (3226 mm) soon followed.

The name “Defender” was chosen in the early 1990s to make a clearer distinction between the base models on the one hand and the rapidly becoming more luxurious models such as the Range Rover and Discovery on the other. The name Defender refers to the military character of the car. Many armies still use the Defender or a derivative thereof (Great Britain, Australia, the Netherlands, etc.)

The main differences between the Defenders and the Series are that the Series are fitted with leaf springs and can be set to use two or four wheel drive, while the Defender uses coil springs and permanent four wheel drive.

As of the 2007 model year, the diesel engine is from the Ford Transit . However, this engine has been overhauled by Land Rover to make it suitable for off-road use and for the extreme conditions in which many Defenders have to operate.

Freelander

The compact Freelander was introduced in 1997. In 2014, the Freelander was succeeded by the Discovery Sport .

End of production
On January 30, 2016, the last Land Rover was produced in Solihull. The last produced copy (total 2.016.993 pieces) remained the property of the factory and is stored in a museum. [3]

Special Vehicle Operations
Special Vehicle Operations, or SVO for short, is a Land Rover division specializing in the design and manufacture of exclusive, luxurious, sporty vehicles. Its headquarters are in Warwickshire , England.

Land Rover Light-Weight
The Land Rover has been used for various purposes over the years, including the military. The Dutch armed forces also used the Land Rover for a long time, the name Land Rover was shortened there to ‘LaRo’.

The British army wanted to have an all-terrain vehicle that they could take under a helicopter , for which the type Light-Weight was designed. Adjustments (narrower) and disassembly of a number of parts made it easier to transport. Ironically, with all parts assembled, this version is heavier than the regular Land Rover, but importantly it hasn’t slowed down.

Land Rover is also known for their successful participation in several desert rallies such as the Camel Trophy and Paris-Dakar . After banning tobacco advertising in motorsport , Land Rover itself has launched an initiative to replace the popular Camel Trophy with the Land Rover G4 Challenge .