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The Land Rover Story is a roller coaster ride through the life and times of Land Rover. Fast-paced and entertaining, it brings alive all aspects of Land Rover from its humble beginnings in 1948 to today’s world-wide renown, with the vehicles — successes and failures — and people at the centre of the story. The 1940s. How the Land Rover came about; the Wilks brothers; the Centre Steer enigma; development and production; launch and reaction. The 1950s. Rapid development and evolution of the original; successes and dead ends; worldwide reach; early expeditions; weird and wonderful modifications; the Series II. The 1960s. Consolidation and further developments; Series IIA; military models; initial development of the Range Rover; search for a V8 engine. The 1970s. The Series III; Range Rover’s popularity but lack of investment; Land Rover abandons US market; the British Leyland story; escape from BL and Michael Edwardes, saviour of Land Rover. The 1980s. British Aerospace ownership; Land Rover grows as most of Britain’s car industry self-destructs; emergence of the coil-sprung models; make or break time with launch of Discovery (Europe’s best-selling 4x4). The 1990s. Tdi engines; Defender and its development. BMW ownership; second-generation Range Rover P38; Freelander; second-generation Discovery; Td5 engine. The 2000s. Ford takeover, alliance with Jaguar, shift towards luxury; third-generation Range Rover L322; the G4 Challenge; Discovery 3, Range Rover Sport, TDCi Defender, Freelander 2, Discovery 4. The 2010s. Tata takeover, upsurge in sales and profits; Range Rover Evoque and Victoria Beckham; Range Rover 4; Range Rover Sport 2; Discovery Sport; Discovery 5; Range Rover Velar; DC100 concept; end of Defender production; rise of Defender as a fashion icon; and much more.
Sunday Times Bestseller As quintessentially British as a plate of fish and chips or a British Bulldog, the boxy, utilitarian Land Rover Defender has become an iconic part of what it is to be British.
The Range Rover's designers intended it to be a more comfortable and road-friendly passenger-carrying Land Rover, but customers quickly saw something much more in it. During the 1970s, while its immense practicality and capability were appreciated and acknowledged, a Range Rover became a sought-after and prestigious possession. It went on to change the face of Land Rover for ever. Range Rover First Generation - The Complete Story delves into the real story of the Range Rover, examining what lay behind the multiple changes in its twenty-six years of production. The book covers the full development story; custom and utility conversions; Range Rovers for the US market; full technical specifications and Range Rovers assembled overseas. If ever a car deserved the over-used epithet 'iconic', the first-generation Range Rover is it. The book provides an insight into the little-known difficulties and problems that were so well concealed by the Range Rover's makers and is a must read for all Range Rover and Land Rover enthusiasts. Superbly illustrated with 223 colour and 97 black & white photographs.
Why Not? After all, no-one had ever done it before. It would be one of the longest of all overland journeys – half way round the world, from the English Channel to Singapore. They knew that several expeditions had already tried it. Some had got as far as the desrts of Persia; a few had even reached the plains of India. But no one had managed to go on from there: over the jungle clad mountains of Assam and across northern Burma to Thailand and Malaya. Over the last 3,000 miles it seemed there were ‘just too many rivers and too few roads'. But no-one really knew … In fact, their problems began much earlier than that. As mere undergraduates, they had no money, no cars, nothing. But with a cool audacity, which was to become characteristic, they set to work – wheedling and cajoling. First, they coaxed the BBC to come up with some film for a possible TV series. They then gently persuaded the manufacturers to lend them two factory-fresh Land Rovers. A publisher was even sweet-talked into giving them an advance on a book. By the time they were ready to go, their sponsors (more than 80 of them) ranged from whiskey distillers to the makers of collapsible buckets. In late 1955, they set off. Seven months and 12,000 miles later, two very weary Land Rovers, escorted by police outriders, rolled into Singapore – to flash bulbs and champagne. Now, fifty years on, their book, ‘First Overland', is republished – with a foreword by Sir David Attenborough. After all, it was he who gave them that film.
Revealed to the world in 1948, the Land-Rover not only revived the Rover Company's fortunes in an austerity-riddled post-war period, but galvanized its future, thanks to the model's almost immediate success. With the manufacture of an initial 48 'pre-production' examples coming to a close, the first official production models were assembled - starting with chassis 860001. As original factory records prove, this pivotal vehicle was destined for His Royal Highness King George VI, but the decision was made to postpone the presentation and instead, 'number one' was retained by the factory until 1950, when it was registered JUE 477 before leaving Rover Company ownership. After decades left out in the cold and exposed to the elements, 860001 had certainly seen better days, but thanks to the determination of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, founder and Chairman of INEOS, the future of JUE 477 was secured in 2017. Over the next two years, a dedicated team of experts, led by chief restorer, Julian Shoolheifer set about restoring the vehicle while retaining as much of its original DNA as was physically, and safely, possible and making sure that this remarkable vehicle's history and past life was still worn with pride.
The Second World War proved, among other things, the value of a basic 4-wheel drive vehicle of rugged construction. The success of the American Jeep inspired the Wilkes' brothers Maurice and Spencer, who ran the Rover Car Company, that a British version was likely to be well received. Launched in 1948, customers were never in short supply for their creation, the Land Rover, although there were some unexpected owners for such a sparse and utilitarian car, including King George VI and Winston Churchill. Once the British Army embraced it as their vehicle of choice, the Land Rover's place in motoring's Hall of Fame was secured. Since those days, the company has gone on to invent the concept of the luxury 4x4 with the launch of the Range Rover in 1970, and has added further to the distinguished stable with the Discovery and the Freelander. The Land Rover has truly conquered the globe - find out how inside...
The story of the Land Rover, the simple four-wheel drive vehicle born out of post-war austerity that became a global byword for toughness and rugged style.
From 1980 to 2000, Camel Trophy took more than 500 amateur competitors from 35 countries on extraordinary and challenging adventures. On most of these events, teams drove specially prepared Land Rovers to the limit and beyond in locations as varied as Borneo, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea and Tanzania. Camel Trophy charts the history of the event and tells the incredible stories resulting from the constant challenge to both man and machine.. As one of the official photographers on the last four events, author Nick Dimbleby’s first-hand account, the shared experiences of competitors, along with contemporary reports and extensive new interviews of key event leaders, all combine to make Camel Trophy a gripping tale of adventure, adversity, technological change and logistical challenge. Illustrated with a stunning collection of photographs including never-before-published, behind-the-scenes shots, this meticulously researched publication can legitimately claim to be the definitive history of the Camel Trophy.
The traditional utility Land Rover remains as much an enthusiast’s choice as ever now that its production has been ended. Between 1948 and 2016, there was a far greater variety of models produced – an astonishing 300-plus – than even the most ardent enthusiasts recognise, and this comprehensive and highly illustrated book is a guide to all of them – both those built in Britain and those built (often with unique features) overseas. Laid out with an easy-to-follow catalogue format, The Complete Catalogue of the Land Rover offers masses of detail on both production variants and also on many that never went beyond the prototype stage, as well as on the multiple special editions that were sold around the world in more recent years.
The 60th anniversary of Land Rover occurs in 2008. The original Series 1 Land Rover was unveiled in 1948 and the utilitarian Defender models are still instantly recognisable as relatives of the original. The Land Rover range has also expanded over the years to elevate the Solihull marque to a premium brand in the automotive market place, the latest Range Rover models providing palatial luxury while still providing unbeatable off-road performance. This beautifully produced book tells the full story of all Land Rover models through a wealth of stunning color images, many previously unpublished.