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Land Rover – The Muscular Car Brand
Land Rover- the name itself symbolizes sturdiness. The brand from the royal land of Britain has a long and valuable history of 60 years. In these 60 years, the car manufacturer has seen several ups/downs but their hard work and confidence inspired them to travel this long, experiencing success globally. Now as the iconic brand is under the Tata Motors shade, the interest among the Indians will be more to known about the foreign car brand.
It is surprising to know that the first design of Land Rover was sketched on the Red Wharf Bay beach by British motor manufacturer called Rover. He wanted to develop a vehicle which was as powerful as light tractor but again an off-roader.
The sketch was approved and in 1947 a prototype of the vehicle was built using an American Willys Jeep. To overcome the steel shortage, the Wilks brothers decided to adorn the big boy with the aluminum alloy. This was to further help the vehicle to be light weight and also rust proof.
Finally the car started taking its shape at Solihull (England) in 1948 which was powered by a 1.6-litre clubbed with a four-wheel drive transmission. Initially it was seen only as an open utility vehicle with a wheelbase of 80 inches. It carried the price tag of £450 (approximately Rs 35,000). The company had the vehicle were fitted with power take-offs which helped the farmers to drive the farming equipment.
Initially only 1758 Land Rovers were produced and later it started producing rapidly and by the end of 1949, 12,395 Land Rovers had already seen the roads. And in 1950 the numbers rose up to 16,795 for Land Rovers. The production touched an impressive number of 25,000 on the 10th anniversary of Land Rover.
The company decided to add more comforts to the Land Rover which resulted in the first seven-seater station wagon, with a coach built body by Tickford. As the car carried an expensive price tag it was unable to catch up with the sales in UK, though it recorded good sales overseas. Following the evaluation of a number of American products, Rover started building '100-inch Station Wagon', which would finally emerge as the Range Rover.
The Land Rover was very much a part of everything. It showed its presence in rails cars, safari vehicles, and army vehicles to emergency vehicles.
In 1949 the Army edition was rolled out which proved its capability on the battle fields compared to the sophisticated and more expensive Austin Champ. The British Armed Forces ultimately accepted Land Rovers in many different forms as their new standard four-wheel drive vehicle.
The traditional drive system was taken over by the permanent four-wheel drive system in the year 1950. This system offered good handling not only in the low range but could choose in high range when necessary. Two years later the vehicle received an upgradation under the hood. The 1.6-litre engine was replaced by a 2.0-litre engine adding more power.
After experiencing great success with Land Rover Series I, in 1958, the car manufacturer launched Series-II model which was enhanced with restyled body with side skirts and rounded shoulders in the side panels. This model was powered by a 2.3-litre petrol engine which was shortly accompanied by the diesel engine. With the launch of diesel versions, Land Rovers were re-named as Series IIA.
In 60's the British car manufacturer realized the success of Land Rover and was convinced that the market is ready to ride on the four wheel luxury vehicles. The company wanted to design a car which would offer the luxury of a sedan and power and good handling of a 4X4 wheel drive. This idea gave birth to the Range Rover model, which was well received by the people.
It is surprising to know that the first design of Land Rover was sketched on the Red Wharf Bay beach by British motor manufacturer called Rover. He wanted to develop a vehicle which was as powerful as light tractor but again an off-roader.
The sketch was approved and in 1947 a prototype of the vehicle was built using an American Willys Jeep. To overcome the steel shortage, the Wilks brothers decided to adorn the big boy with the aluminum alloy. This was to further help the vehicle to be light weight and also rust proof.
Finally the car started taking its shape at Solihull (England) in 1948 which was powered by a 1.6-litre clubbed with a four-wheel drive transmission. Initially it was seen only as an open utility vehicle with a wheelbase of 80 inches. It carried the price tag of £450 (approximately Rs 35,000). The company had the vehicle were fitted with power take-offs which helped the farmers to drive the farming equipment.
Initially only 1758 Land Rovers were produced and later it started producing rapidly and by the end of 1949, 12,395 Land Rovers had already seen the roads. And in 1950 the numbers rose up to 16,795 for Land Rovers. The production touched an impressive number of 25,000 on the 10th anniversary of Land Rover.
The company decided to add more comforts to the Land Rover which resulted in the first seven-seater station wagon, with a coach built body by Tickford. As the car carried an expensive price tag it was unable to catch up with the sales in UK, though it recorded good sales overseas. Following the evaluation of a number of American products, Rover started building '100-inch Station Wagon', which would finally emerge as the Range Rover.
The Land Rover was very much a part of everything. It showed its presence in rails cars, safari vehicles, and army vehicles to emergency vehicles.
In 1949 the Army edition was rolled out which proved its capability on the battle fields compared to the sophisticated and more expensive Austin Champ. The British Armed Forces ultimately accepted Land Rovers in many different forms as their new standard four-wheel drive vehicle.
The traditional drive system was taken over by the permanent four-wheel drive system in the year 1950. This system offered good handling not only in the low range but could choose in high range when necessary. Two years later the vehicle received an upgradation under the hood. The 1.6-litre engine was replaced by a 2.0-litre engine adding more power.
After experiencing great success with Land Rover Series I, in 1958, the car manufacturer launched Series-II model which was enhanced with restyled body with side skirts and rounded shoulders in the side panels. This model was powered by a 2.3-litre petrol engine which was shortly accompanied by the diesel engine. With the launch of diesel versions, Land Rovers were re-named as Series IIA.
In 60's the British car manufacturer realized the success of Land Rover and was convinced that the market is ready to ride on the four wheel luxury vehicles. The company wanted to design a car which would offer the luxury of a sedan and power and good handling of a 4X4 wheel drive. This idea gave birth to the Range Rover model, which was well received by the people.
It was in the year 1971, the upgraded version of Land Rover named as Series III was introduced. As the time passed, people got to see new technology and styles in Land Rover. Series III model were seen with moulded plastic grille and faclifted fascia along with completely synchromesh transmission. In the 80's, this mean machine was seen with more comfortable feature like wind-up windows. In the same year Camel-Trophy off-road competition was launched where Jeep had earlier held a monopoly. With the advent of Land Rovers, jeeps soon lost its ground in this high voltage off-roading competition. Much later Land Rover came up with its own global adventure called the Land Rover G4 challenge.
The year 1989 saw the birth of Discovery which was a blend of ruggedness and off-road-capability of a Land Rover and elegance and comfort of a Range Rover.
The Land Rover was re-christened as Defender in 1990 with another new model called Discovery going on sale. The Defender was well accepted and well appreciated till date.
In 1992, the LSE (or County LWB as it was known in the US) was introduced extended wheelbase extended of 108 inches from 100 inches. During this time electronic air suspension was also seen on short and long-wheelbase models.
In 1994 the German car manufacturer BMW took over Rover Group and its first Land Rover product that was launched was the second-generation Range Rover. The model was incorporated with gracefully restyled body, while retaining the 108-inch wheelbase of the LSE, although on a new chassis. It was seen with a choice of engine-4.0-litre or 4.6-litre V8 engines, or 2.5-litre six cylinder diesel.
The most expensive Land Rover model was launched in 1995 which was manufactured in limited numbers with the price tag of £100,000. In the year 2000 Land Rover became a part of Ford's Premier Automotive Group which saw other members like Aston Martin, Jaguar, Lincoln and Volvo.
In 1998 as a mark of celebrating the 50th anniversary, Freelander was launched with ground-breaking technology. It was the first model from Land Rover's stable to be enhanced with Hill Descent Control technology which bagged 'Queen's Award for Enterprise' in the year 2001.
Land Rover's design and technology skills stared flourishing under the ownership of Ford and the result was the launch of Range Stormer concept vehicle which was introduced at the 2004 Detroit Show. In the same year Discovery 3 was launched with a significant re-styling.
In order to add green factor to the performance of car models, the company in 2007 invested £700 million in the new technology. The following year saw new concept models like LRX- a completely contemporary Land Rover powered by a hybrid 2.0-litre diesel with potential CO2 emissions of 120g/km. In 2008 LRX concept was showcased which promised to deliver significant future fuel efficiency savings. The outstanding sales of the car brand were recognized resulting in winning the Queen's Award for Enterprise: International Trade in 2008. Land Rover bagged the award 'for outstanding performance in increasing its export sales'.
The “Tackle any terrain” motto of Land Rover has made the Land Rover very popular across the world. Over the past 60 years, the Land Rover family has grown into the highly respected range of vehicles that are sold in record numbers. Today the premium brand is in the hands of the Indian car leader Tata Motors.
The year 1989 saw the birth of Discovery which was a blend of ruggedness and off-road-capability of a Land Rover and elegance and comfort of a Range Rover.
The Land Rover was re-christened as Defender in 1990 with another new model called Discovery going on sale. The Defender was well accepted and well appreciated till date.
In 1992, the LSE (or County LWB as it was known in the US) was introduced extended wheelbase extended of 108 inches from 100 inches. During this time electronic air suspension was also seen on short and long-wheelbase models.
In 1994 the German car manufacturer BMW took over Rover Group and its first Land Rover product that was launched was the second-generation Range Rover. The model was incorporated with gracefully restyled body, while retaining the 108-inch wheelbase of the LSE, although on a new chassis. It was seen with a choice of engine-4.0-litre or 4.6-litre V8 engines, or 2.5-litre six cylinder diesel.
The most expensive Land Rover model was launched in 1995 which was manufactured in limited numbers with the price tag of £100,000. In the year 2000 Land Rover became a part of Ford's Premier Automotive Group which saw other members like Aston Martin, Jaguar, Lincoln and Volvo.
In 1998 as a mark of celebrating the 50th anniversary, Freelander was launched with ground-breaking technology. It was the first model from Land Rover's stable to be enhanced with Hill Descent Control technology which bagged 'Queen's Award for Enterprise' in the year 2001.
Land Rover's design and technology skills stared flourishing under the ownership of Ford and the result was the launch of Range Stormer concept vehicle which was introduced at the 2004 Detroit Show. In the same year Discovery 3 was launched with a significant re-styling.
In order to add green factor to the performance of car models, the company in 2007 invested £700 million in the new technology. The following year saw new concept models like LRX- a completely contemporary Land Rover powered by a hybrid 2.0-litre diesel with potential CO2 emissions of 120g/km. In 2008 LRX concept was showcased which promised to deliver significant future fuel efficiency savings. The outstanding sales of the car brand were recognized resulting in winning the Queen's Award for Enterprise: International Trade in 2008. Land Rover bagged the award 'for outstanding performance in increasing its export sales'.
The “Tackle any terrain” motto of Land Rover has made the Land Rover very popular across the world. Over the past 60 years, the Land Rover family has grown into the highly respected range of vehicles that are sold in record numbers. Today the premium brand is in the hands of the Indian car leader Tata Motors.
