About Land rover
The Land Rover brand has come a long way since the very first rugged four wheeled drive concept came out of the Rover factory in 1948. Designed by Maurice Wilks, who was Rover’s Chief Design Engineer, a concept that was clearly inspired by the famous World War 2 Jeep, in fact the very first Land Rover was built on a Jeep chassis! Constructed of a lightweight rustproof proprietary alloy called Birmabright, this material was used because of the post-war steel shortage and the 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. Land Rover drivers sometimes refer to other makes of 4x4 as “disposables”.
The Rover car company has a long tradition being first established as a cycle company Starley & Sutton Co. of Coventry in 1878. After developing the template for the modern bicycle with its Rover Safety Bicycle of 1885, the company moved into the car industry. It started building motorcycles and Rover cars, using their established marque with the iconic Viking Longship, from 1904 onwards. Land Rover vehicles were added from 1947 onwards, with all production based in Solihull after moving to these premises after World War II.
Variations of the very first Land Rover, which was and still is, a firm favourite with the farming community followed, but the Land Rover which took the motoring world by storm was the Range Rover, announced to the worlds motoring press in June 1970. Little did Rover then know what a world beater they had produced, because unknown to the Rover Company, it was a vehicle that over the years would totally revolutionize the leisure car market.
During the 1970’s the British car industry as a whole suffered from industrial unrest, poor production figures and under-investment, Rover was not immune to the troubles. After a series of take over and mergers Rover was Incorporated into British Leyland which itself became BL and in 1978, BL established Land Rover Limited as a separate subsidiary; it took over Range Rover production. Further acquisitions saw the Land Rover mark fall into the hands of Ford and during the ownership by them it was associated with Jaguar. In many countries they shared a common sales and distribution network including shared dealerships, and some models shared components and production facilities. Land Rover is now part of Tata motors of India.
Today, Land Rover makes a top quality range of models which are a far cry from the original basic utility four wheel drive all terrain vehicles. Land Rover originated as one specific vehicle, originally known just as the Land Rover, since then it has developed into a brand encompassing a range of four-wheel drive models, including the Defender, Discovery, Freelander, and Range Rover. Land Rovers models are currently assembled in Halewood, and Solihull, with research and development primarily taking place in Gaydon. In 2009 Land Rover was attributed with selling 194,000 vehicles worldwide.
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