Land Rover is a British car manufacturer founded in 1948. It has become one of the world’s most iconic brands, with models ranging from sport utility vehicles to luxury cars. In this article, we’ll explore the history of the Land Rover and take a look at some of its most popular models today
The company was founded by Maurice Wilks, who previously worked for Jaguar Cars Ltd., under the leadership of Sir William Lyons, but wanted to create his own brand that would offer an alternative to American 4 × 4 cars, which he felt were too big for British country roads . He hired designer Alex Issigonis, whom he had met while working on pre-war Morris Minor designs at Morris Garages (later MG), and together they developed many innovative solutions, including interchangeable parts and the famous 2.25-liter, 4-cylinder overhead camshaft engine that later powered many Jaguar cars.
In 1952, the first production Land Rover was built at the Solihull, England plant – a vehicle named the Series I for a series of prototypes. It had four-wheel drive and a 2.25 gasoline engine, which was replaced in 1958 by a 2.6-liter diesel engine. It is believed to be the first SUV ever made and has quickly become popular with British and international off-road enthusiasts.
The company continued to improve its vehicles over the years, introducing new engines and adopting advanced technologies, but never deviated from its original ethos of creating high-performance off-road vehicles. Series II was presented in 1958, with a new grill and other minor changes, while Series III was introduced in 1971 with an improved gearbox and engine.
In the 1970s, Land Rover experimented with different types of vehicles, all powered by a Rolls Royce engine. They produced the Land Rover One Ten with a longer, more luxurious body and powered it with a 3.5-liter V8, but customers preferred faster vehicles, so they swapped it for a 5-liter V8 in later models.
The most popular model was the Range Rover, which was introduced in 1970 as a more luxurious variant of the Series III. It was designed to compete with competing vehicle brands in North America and featured a 3.0-liter V8 engine, automatic transmission, power steering and air conditioning. Other Land Rover models at the time were the Range Rover Lightweight, which was smaller and had two-wheel drive, but had a similar aesthetic. The Range Rover was the world’s first all-wheel-drive luxury vehicle to feature state-of-the-art technology. It also had a unique design with boxy panels and a high driving position.
He quickly became popular with celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, who drove him on his Australian tour in 1972.
Land Rover celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1999. It was also the first year that the company opened a production facility in Brazil.
At this point, Land Rover sales had risen to over 200,000 vehicles per year, largely thanks to the Range Rover, which continued to set the standard for luxury 4 × 4 vehicles. Until 2002, new models were introduced every two years and the annual production reached over 370,000 units.
The Freelander (or LR-Freelander) was launched in 1997 as the smaller companion of the Range Rover to compete with emerging Japanese brands such as Honda and Nissan. It was equipped with reliable all-wheel drive, an innovative automatic transmission with a “smooth flywheel” and an automatic transmission with a center differential with locking and electronic traction control.
He was an immediate success, winning the European Car of the Year award in 1998. He also won several off-road races, including the Paris Dakar Rally, in which he first started in 2000 with winner Richard Burns at the wheel. In the same year, annual sales reached over 100 units, making it the first Land Rover to have sold over 100,000 units since 1982.
Until 2004, the company sold 500 new vehicles every day and sold over 1 million units in less than 45 years of production. Today that number has risen to around 1.8 million units per year, of which more than 50% are sold internationally in 110 countries.
Today, Land Rover is part of the Tata Motors group and continues to offer luxury SUVs that have a distinctly British feel. The company is known for its passion for off-road technology, and each vehicle it produces must pass a comprehensive Land Rover “approval process” to ensure it can meet Land Rover’s high demands.
At Land Rover’s Solihull plant, each vehicle undergoes more than 260 individual quality checks. Over 40% of parts are sourced from over 200 local UK suppliers.
Land Rover is still British in character, but has expanded its operations worldwide with production facilities in Brazil, China, India and Slovakia.
