'Land Rover' is a
British all-terrain vehicle and
Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV) manufacturer, based in
Gaydon,
England,
UK. Originally the term Land Rover referred to one specific vehicle, a pioneering civilian all-terrain utility vehicle launched on
April 30,
1948, at the Amsterdam Motor Show, but was later used as a brand for several distinct models, all
four-wheel drive. Starting out as part of The Rover Car Company or
Rover, Land Rovers were designed and manufactured as a range of four-wheel drive vehicles under a succession of owners, including
British Leyland,
British Aerospace and
BMW.
Today, the marque is part of the
Premier Automotive Group, a division of the
Ford Motor Company, and one of the longest lived SUV brands -- the only brand which is older is the U.S.
Jeep, originally trademarked by
Willys-Overland Corporation. Land Rover is currently up for sale together with Jaguar in June 2007 and its immediate future is very uncertain.
Manufacturing & Business
Land Rovers are manufactured primarily at the
Solihull plant, near
Birmingham,
England. Production of the "Freelander 2" has moved recently to the
Jaguar car factory at
Halewood near
Liverpool, a former Ford car plant.
Defender models are assembled under license in several locations worldwide, including
Brazil and
Turkey. The former BL/Rover Group technical centre at
Gaydon in
Warwickshire is home to the Land Rover corporate and
R&D headquarters.
80-inch Series I
History
The first Land Rover was designed in 1947 in the
United Kingdom (on the island of
Anglesey in
Wales) by
Maurice Wilks, chief designer at the British car company
Rover on his farm in
Newborough, Anglesey. It is said that he was inspired by an American
World War II Jeep that he used one summer at his holiday home in
Wales. The first Land Rover prototype '
centre steer' was built on a
Jeep chassis. A distinctive feature is their bodies, constructed of a lightweight rustproof proprietary
alloy of
aluminium and
magnesium called
Birmabright. This material was used owing to post war steel shortages and a plentiful supply of post-war aircraft aluminium. This metal's resistance to corrosion was one of the factors that allowed the vehicle to build up a reputation for longevity in the toughest conditions. The early choice of colour was dictated by military surplus supplies of aircraft cockpit paint, so early vehicles only came in various shades of light green; all models until recently feature sturdy box section ladder-frame chassis.
The early vehicles, such as the
Series I, were field-tested at Long Bennington and designed to be field-serviced; advertisements for Rovers cite vehicles driven thousands of miles on
banana oil. Now with more complex service requirements this is less of an option. The
British Army maintains the use of the mechanically simple 2.5 litre 4 cylinder 300TDi engined versions rather than the electronically controlled 2.5 litre 5 cylinder TD5 to retain some servicing simplicity. This engine also continued in use in some export markets using units built at a
Ford plant in Brazil, where Land Rovers were built under license and the engine was also used in Ford pick-up trucks built locally. Production of the TDi engine ended here in 2006, meaning that Land Rover no longer offers it as an option. International Motors of Brazil offer an engine called the 2.8 TGV Power Torque, which is essentially a 2.8-litre version of the 300TDi, with a corresponding increase in power and torque.
Since its purchase by Ford, Land Rover has been closely associated with Jaguar. In many countries they share a common sales and distribution network (including shared dealerships), and some models now share components and production facilities.
Challenge of Japanese makes
Since the 1970s, in remote areas of Africa, South America, Asia and the Australian Outback, the somewhat similar
Toyota Land Cruiser and
Mitsubishi Pajero (also known as Shogun in the UK and Montero in other markets) have overtaken the Land Rover as the utility 4x4 of choice, partly because of the better support network and reputation for reliability. In Australia at least, pricing is now actually comparable or in favour of the Land Rover, due to the shorter supply chain. Another reason seems to be the 'leadfoot' factor - the
workhorse Toyota models tend to have larger engines than the comparable Land Rover models.
In Britain, the Land Rover fell from favour with the farming community with the arrival of less expensive Japanese alternatives, with
Daihatsu Fourtracks,
Isuzu Troopers and
Mitsubishi Pajeros becoming a common sight on farms around the country, until rust eventually ended their working lives. However, with subtle improvements to the Defender in the early 1990s, and with the introduction of better, more reliable engines in the form of the TDi and the five-cylinder TD5, many farms once again have a Land Rover Defender in their drive.
Company timeline
★ 1948: Land Rover is designed by the Wilks Brothers and is manufactured by the
Rover Car Company
★ 1967: Rover becomes part of
Leyland Motors Ltd, later
British Leyland (BL) as Rover Triumph.
★ 1970: Introduction of the
Range Rover
★ 1971:
Series III launched.
★ 1975: BL collapses and is nationalised, publication of the
Ryder Report recommends that Land Rover be split from Rover and be treated as a separate company within BL and becomes part of the new commercial vehicle division called the Land Rover Leyland Group
★ 1976: One millionth Land Rover leaves the production line.
★ 1980: Rover car production ends at Solihull with the transfer of SD1 production to Cowley, Oxford; Solihull is now exclusively for Land Rover manufacture. 5-door Range Rover introduced.
★ 1983:
Land Rover Ninety/One Ten/127 (Defender) introduced.
★ 1986: BL plc becomes Rover Group plc
★ 1988: Rover Group is privatised and becomes part of
British Aerospace, and is now known simply as
Rover.
★ 1987: Range Rover is introduced to the U.S market
★ 1989: Introduction of the
Discovery ("Disco I" to enthusiasts)
★ 1994: Rover Group is taken over by
BMW. Introduction of second-generation Range Rover. (The original Range Rover was continued under the name 'Range Rover Classic' until 1995)
★ 1998: Introduction of the Freelander
★ 1999: Introduction of the second generation of Discovery (Disco II)
★ 2000: BMW breaks up the Rover Group and sells Land Rover to
Ford for £1.8 billion
[1]
★ 2002: Introduction of third-generation
Range Rover
★ 2005: Land Rover 'founder'
Rover, collapses under the ownership of MG Rover Group.
★ 2005: Introduction of the third-generation
Discovery/LR3
★ 2005: Introduction of
Range Rover Sport
★ 2005: Adoption of the
Jaguar AJ-V8 engine to replace the
BMW M62 V8 in the Range Rover
★ 2006: Announcement of a new 2.4 litre diesel engine, 6 speed gearbox, dash and forward facing rear seats for Defender. Introduction of second generation of Freelander (Freelander 2). Ford acquires the Rover
trademark from BMW, who previously licensed its use to MG Rover Group.
★ 2007:
May 8 4,000,000th Land Rover rolls off the production line, a Discovery 3 (LR3), donated to The
Born Free Foundation.
★ 2007:
June 12 Announcement from the
Ford Motor Company that it plans to sell Land Rover and also
Jaguar Cars. This effectively dissolves the
Premier Automotive Group (PAG) which previously included
Aston Martin, until it was sold into private ownership by
Ford in March 2007; at this time
Ford has made no announcement regarding
Volvo Cars.
★ 2007: August
India's
Tata Motors and
Mahindra and Mahindra expressed their interest in purchasing
Jaguar Cars and Land Rover from the Ford Motor Company.
[2][3]
Models
★ '
Series I, II and III' - the original
off-roader
★ '
Defender' - Updated Series line, with a move from extreme utilitarianism.
★ '
Freelander 2' -
compact crossover 4x4, the second generation of which is known as the
LR2 in North America.
★ '
Discovery 3' -
full-size off-roader
★ '
Range Rover' -
full-size luxury off-roader
★ '
Range Rover Classic' - the original Range Rover, produced from 1970 to 1996
★ '
Range Rover Sport' -
full-size luxury crossover 4x4
There have also been models developed for the UK
Ministry of Defence (MoD)
★ '
101 Forward Control' - also known as the "Land Rover One Tonne"
★ '
1/2 ton Lightweight' - airportable military short wheelbase from the Series 2a
★ '
Land Rover Wolf' - an uprated Military Defender
★ '
SNATCH landrover' - Land Rover with composite armoured body in UK Armed Forces Service
★ 109 Series IIa and III ambulance (body by Marshalls of Cambridge)
★ Range Rover 6x4 Fire Appliance (conversion by Carmichael and Sons of Worcester) for RAF airfield use
★ 130 Defender ambulance
Current models
| '2007 UK Land Rover Model Line-up' |
| Model | Type | Price Range |
|---|---|---|
| Land Rover Freelander | SUV | £20,935 - £33,990 |
| Land Rover Defender | Off-Roader | £19,480 - £28,495 |
| Land Rover Discovery | 4x4 | £27,215 - £48,720 |
| Range Rover Sport | SUV | £35,665 - £63,225 |
| Range Rover | 4x4 | £55,100 - £74,900 |
At the 2004
North American International Auto Show, Land Rover introduced its first
concept, the
Range Stormer (Gritzinger, 2004). A "green" concept known as
Land e was also recently shown.
Military use
Since the very beginning all Series and Defender models have been used in a military capacity. Often this has entailed just slightly modifying civilian models (primarily adding military "blackout" lights), but some dedicated military models have also been developed such as the forward control and the lightweight. The Discovery has also been used in small numbers, mostly as liaison vehicles. Two models that have been designed for military use from the ground up are the 101 Forward Control from the early 1970s and the Lightweight or Airportable from the late 1960s. The latter was intended to be transported by helicopter. The famous
Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service (United Kingdom) teams were early users in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and their convoys of landrovers and larger military trucks are a sight often seen in the mountain areas of the United Kingdom. Originally
RAFMRS Land Rovers had blue bodies and bright yellow tops, to be better seen from above. In 1981, the colour scheme was changed to green with yellow stripes. More recently, vehicles have been painted white, and are issued with fittings similar to civilian UK
Mountain Rescue teams. The teams have recently been threatened with replacement of their beloved Land Rovers by Toyota 4 x 4 SUV-style vehicles.
Military modifications include 24 Volt electrics, convoy lights, electronic suppression of the ignition system, blackout curtains and mounts for special equipment and small arms.
Military uses include light utility vehicle, communications platform, weapon platform for
recoilless rifles,
TOWs or
machine guns,
ambulances and workshops.
One famous adaptation of Land Rovers to military purposes is the "Pink Panther" models. Approximately 100 Series IIAs were adapted to
reconnaissance use by the British special operations forces the
SAS. For desert use they were often painted pink, hence the name. The vehicles were fitted with among other gear a
sun compass, machine guns, larger fuel tanks and smoke dischargers. Similar adaptations were later made to Series IIIs and 90/110/Defenders.
[4]
The
75th Ranger Regiment of the
United States Army also adapted twelve versions of the Land Rover that were officially designated the
RSOV (Ranger Special Operations Vehicle.)
Series and Defenders have also been uparmoured. The most widespread of these is the
Shorts Shorland, built by Shorts Brothers of
Belfast. The first of these were delivered in
1965 to the
Royal Ulster Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force. They were originally 109" models with an armoured body and a turret from the Ferret armoured car. In 1990 there had been more than 1,000 produced.
[5]
In the 1970s a more conventional armoured Land Rover was built for the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Wales called the Hotspur. The
Land Rover Tangi was built by the Royal Ulster Constabulary's own vehicle engineering team during the 1990s. The British Army has used various armoured Land Rovers, first in Northern Ireland but also in more recent campaigns. They first added protective panels to Series General Service vehicles (the Vehicle Protection Kit (VPK)). Later they procured the Glover Webb APV and finally the Courtaulds (later NP Aerospace) Composite Armoured Vehicle, commonly known as
Snatch. These were originally based on heavy duty V8 110 chassis but some have recently been re-mounted on new chassis from
Otokar of Turkey and fitted with diesel engines and air-conditioning for Iraq. Although these now have more in common with the ).
★ 89% of Land Rovers were reported breakdown-free in 2003 ''Which?'' (UK) magazine's J.D. Power survey.
★ Several environmental groups discourage Land Rovers in urban use as they give off about 300g of CO
2 emissions per km and a petrol-engined Range Rover does 12mpg (diesel models do double this figure)>
Beginning with the Discovery Series III (LR3 in the US) model, one of the replacement power plants for the new model will be a 4.4L V8 engine developed by
Jaguar and a 4.0L v6 developed by Ford (Jaguar is also part of the Ford Group).
Some of the service problems in US specification Land Rover Defender and Discovery models are related to the
Rover V8 petrol engine, as Land Rover increased the displacement and otherwise modernized the engine, which was originally designed in the late 1950s by
General Motors for
Buick. The same engine has powered a variety of other British cars, including the
Rover 3500 and
Triumph TR8.
Most
European,
South African and
Australian specification Defenders and Discovery models are now equipped with the TD5
diesel engine and reliability has still proven a problem as detailed in the surveys above. Part of the problem is also caused by the manufacturing methods used. The Defender is still largely hand-built, with aluminium body panels mounted on a steel chassis. This makes it very hard for the vehicle to have the same rigidity and inter-panel sealing as is found on modern vehicle. The 1980s saw numerous cut-backs to the utility Land Rover line (at that time, the Ninety/One Ten range), which included the replacement of the galvanised metal body cappings (as used since 1948) with simple painted items. This led to rapid corrosion of these parts. Similar economy measures were put in place. Recently increased investment under Ford has seen the return of the galvanised cappings, and design changes to reduce corrosion (such as the introduction of a one-piece rear door on Station Wagon and Hard Top models, which previously had doors made from panels over a steel frame).
Land Rover still makes heavy use of the British Leyland "parts bin" on its older models (the Defender and Freelander in particular), and this as well as its parts-sharing scheme is often cited as the cause of many malfunctions. It now appears that Ford is attempting to address the Land Rover quality issues. It was reported in the ''
Birmingham Post'' on 27 May 2004 that Ford's
senior management have given the Land Rover plant 8 weeks to come up with a "road map" to address the quality issues at Land Rover and bring its competitiveness up to global standards in 5 years. Ford has threatened Solihull with closure unless significant improvements are realised, and with no replacement for the
Jaguar X-type on the cards, it seems likely that there will be sufficient extra capacity at Halewood in the coming years to accommodate the entire Land Rover range.
Despite the recent drops in quality, it is rumoured that 75% of all Land Rovers produced since 1955 are still on the road. This figure may be misleading, due to the wider range of vehicles and much higher production of recent years. The simplicity of build and cross compatibility of parts with many earlier models, together with the enthusiasm of many owners, has ensured many vehicles have stayed on the road. The longevity of individual vehicles may also tend to hide any improvements in production quality as assembly faults, once fixed, may stay fixed, and so may only matter to the first buyer. Enthusiasts of the marque and commercial users often point out that the mechanical components of the vehicles are very tough and reliable, whereas other manufacturers not only produce models with assembly faults which are recalled, but do not tend to remain as reliable as Land Rover products in the long run. It is also true that a much larger proportion of early Land Rover Discovery, the first vehicle to be produced in very high numbers, remain in everyday use than can be said of rival manufacturers.
In popular culture and public media
Land Rovers, particularly the commercial and military models, became ubiquitous throughout rural areas and in the developing World. The Land Rover featured in the South African film ''
The Gods Must Be Crazy'' illustrates the love-hate relationship many owners feel with the earlier Series 1, 2 and 3 vehicles. The 1960s TV series ''
Daktari'' featured a Land Rover which was the subject of Corgi models that still frequent
eBay listings. Many other films feature prominent roles for Land Rovers, including '', ''
Ace Ventura'', ''
Hotel Rwanda'' and the
Bond film ''
The Living Daylights''. '' features a Land Rover Discovery 3 (LR3). One of the not-so-subtle drug lords in the British crime movie
Layer Cake (film) is noted for driving a yellow
Range Rover. An
anachronism occurs in
Ice-Cold in Alex, which features a Land Rover though the film is set during World War II. Fox's television show
The O.C. featured an affluent family driving a
Range Rover. ''
The Queen'' depicts
Queen Elizabeth II maneuvering a forest green Land Rover through the Scottish countryside.
When a new paint colour called 'Stornoway Grey', a replacement of Bonatti Grey, was introduced to Land rover vehicles,
Western Isles councillor
Angus Nicolson demanded the name to be changed to Silvery Stornoway because he claimed the colour will damage the town's image among tourists and leave people with the impression that
Stornoway was drab and dull. Land Rover representative responded that the use of Stornoway Grey will help keep it on the map, as grey is an extremely popular colour for the vehicle.
[7]
Land Rovers have competed in the
Paris Dakar Rally as well as being the vehicle used for the
Camel Trophy as part of a sponsorship deal. Now, Land Rover has its own
G4 challenge.
Bicycle range
In June 2004 Landrover released a comprehensive 25 model range of bicycles to complement the automotive range. The three main ranges are the 'Defender' the 'Discovery' and the 'Freelander'. Each range has its different attributes. The 'Discovery' is an all-rounder bicycle and is suited to a mixture of different terrains. The 'Defender' range is most suited to rugged
terrain and off road pursuits, whereas the 'Freelander' Is designed for an urban lifestyle. All bikes are made from lightweight
Aluminium and cost from £200-£1000.
References
1. [1]
2. [2]
3. [3]
4. Bob Morrison: ''Land Rovers in military service'', Brooklands Books 1993, ISBN 1-85520-205-0
5. Shorland.info
6. "Most & least reliable brands - 950,000 readers tell which products really last", Consumer Reports, May 2007, p. 12
7. Brit town protests "Stornoway Grey" Land Rovers
External links
★
Official Land Rover Website
★
Land Rover World and the Land Rover World Show
★
London to Brighton Land Rover Run
★
Land Rover Owner International - Land Rover technical help, blogs, forums, news
★
The Land Rover FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions about Land Rovers
★
First Overland - First Overland - London to Singapore by Land Rover web site
★
Model Identification How to Identify your Series Land Rover
★
VIN numbers
★
Disco3 - Discovery3 & LR3 Owners resource
★
Land Rover Zone - General Land Rover forum covering all models
★
Discovery Owners Club - Owners club for all Discovery models
★
Landrover extreme
★
★
Land Rover Thing - Land Rover Search Engine / Directory
★
Southeast Range Rover - Range Rover Classic Parts, History & Classic Range Rovers For Sale
★
Land Rover Wiki - A community of Land Rover enthusiasts providing information on purchasing, maintaining, off roading and more
★
World Wide Land Rover Search Engine
★
roverhaul.com - Land Rover Restoration Projects & Historical Picture Galleries
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