Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India’s Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers in Brazil, China, India, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom. The Land Rover name was created in 1948 by the Rover Company for a utilitarian 4WD off-road vehicle; currently, the Land Rover range consists solely of upmarket and luxury sport utility vehicles.
Land Rover was granted a Royal Warrant by King George VI in 1951, and 50 years later, in 2001, it received a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for outstanding contribution to international trade. Over time, Land Rover grew into its own brand (and for a while also a company), encompassing a consistently growing range of four-wheel drive, off-road capable models. Starting with the much more upmarket 1970 Range Rover, and subsequent introductions of the mid-range Discovery and entry-level Freelander line (in 1989 and 1997), as well as the 1990 Land Rover Defender refresh, the marque today includes two models of Discovery, four distinct models of Range Rover, and after a three-year hiatus, a second generation of Defenders have gone into production for the 2020 model year—in short or long wheelbase, as before.
For half a century (from the original 1948 model, through 1997, when the Freelander was introduced), Land Rovers and Range Rovers exclusively relied on their trademark boxed-section vehicle frames. Land Rover used boxed frames in a direct product bloodline until the termination of the original Defender in 2016; and their last body-on-frame model was replaced by a monocoque with the third generation Discovery in 2017. Since then all Land Rovers and Range Rovers have a unified body and frame structure.
Since 2010, Land Rover has also introduced two-wheel drive variants, both of the Freelander, and of the Evoque, after having built exclusively 4WD cars for 62 years. The 2WD Freelander has been succeeded by a 2WD Discovery Sport, available in some markets.
HISTORY
Today’s Land Rover models trace their roots back to the original Series I Land Rover conceived by the Wilks brothers.
The first Land Rover was launched in 1948 at the Amsterdam Motor Show by The Rover Company.
In 1967, Rover became part of Leyland Motors as Rover Triumph. Leyland Motors later became British Leyland (BL).
In 1970, the Range Rover was introduced.
In 1975, Land Rover was split from Rover and was treated as a separate company within British Leyland (BL). It became part of the new commercial vehicle division called the Land Rover Leyland Group
In 1978, Land Rover Limited was formed as a separate subsidiary of British Leyland (BL).
In 1983, Land Rover Ninety and One-Ten range of models were introduced. The models were renamed Defender in 1990.
In 1986, BL plc became Rover Group plc.
In 1989, Discovery was introduced.
In 1994, Rover Group was acquired by BMW.
In 2000, BMW broke up the Rover Group and sold Land Rover to Ford Motor.
In 2005, Range Rover Sport was introduced.
In 2008, Ford Motor sold Land Rover and Jaguar to Tata Motors.
In 2011, the Range Rover Evoque was introduced.
In 2013, Land Rover merged with Jaguar Cars into a new single company, Jaguar Land Rover Limited, producing vehicles under both brands.
In 2017, Range Rover Velar was introducerd.
VEHICLES
- Defender;
- Discovery;
- Discovery Sport;
- Range Rover;
- Range Rover Sport;
- Range Rover Velar;
- Range Rover Evoque.
*Information from www.jaguarlandrover.com, www.landrover.com, and www.landroverusa.com.
**Video published on YouTube by “Alux.com“
