Truly remarkable and uniquely British institution, Land Rover has become a name universally identified with the definitive four-wheel-drive vehicle.
The world of the mid to late 1940s was a very different one to today’s, global resources exhausted by World War II and markets in decline.
Great Britain found itself under harsh economic control, its industry short of orders, materials and factories. However, the 1945 General Election brought a change of government, and with it a steely determination to rebuild the economy.
Britain’s celebrated car industry was a fundamental part of this equation, but its rehabilitation was hampered by an effective six year gap in development and a heavily regulated home-market.
In the midst of this, Rover sought permission from the government to re-start civilian car production. The Rover engineers prepared a novel small car design, but as soon as it became apparent that rationing would continue, they realised that something else was needed urgently, if only on a temporary basis.
It was brothers Spencer and Maurice Wilks – Rover’s pivotal helmsmen – who embarked on a plan to create a new vehicle.
At the time, Maurice was using an ex-army Willys Jeep to get around his property on the island of Anglesey off North Wales, but he had no idea what he would do when it wore out: there was nothing else he could buy.
So they decided to design their own replacement using the Jeep as the basic yardstick. It had to be simple in design, cheap to build – preferably using as little sheet steel as possible – and utilitarian, to suit the post-war climate.
The need to act quickly, and the shortage of steel, made the choice of aluminium alloy for the bodywork a clever one. Relatively easy to obtain, it was lighter and more resistant to corrosion – an advantage for a vehicle likely to spend much of its life in harsh conditions.
By summer 1947, work on the prototype had been finished. The body was made up of three units that could be independently unbolted from the basic structure, and the chassis was fabricated by welding together strips of steel into a ladder-shaped box. Designed by manufacturing engineer Olaf Poppe, it would become a Land Rover construction hallmark for the next fifty years.
Following a pilot-build of 25 vehicles, the Land Rover was launched at the Amsterdam Motor Show in April 1948. Public awareness soared, and the order books quickly bulged. Production in 1948 rapidly out-stripped that of the Rover saloon, and doubled the following year, marking the beginning of the Land Rover phenomenon.
The 1960s saw a remarkable growth in the mainstream four-wheel-drive market, especially in the USA, where Land Rover found itself at the forefront of the burgeoning sports utility market.
In 1966, Land Rover introduced the option of a six-cylinder engine, and a "luxury pack" comprising well upholstered front seats. But the Rover engineers knew they could go much further. A team of 20 engineers began to give flesh to the bare bones of the luxury Land Rover concept that we have today.
In 1970, the Range Rover was launched to immense press coverage and ecstatic reports. Available in two-door guise, it had an opening tailgate and a comparatively spartan interior - suitable for hosing out the dirt and debris expected to collect there. Once again, orders came flooding in, and Range Rover quickly assumed the mantle of unrivalled leader of the pack.
However, this initial success did not extend to the North American market. Changing safety and emissions regulations made it too expensive for many manufacturers to compete, and Land Rover withdrew in 1974, to reappear only much later.
In 1974, British Leyland Motor Corporation – Rover’s parent company – was nationalised and a review of the whole organisation was carried out. Soon after this, newly-appointed Managing Director Michael (later Sir Michael) Edwardes split the corporation into two semi-autonomous groups, one of which headed the Land Rover Limited sub-division. At last, it had a management team to fight for its investment and production needs.
Soon, a four-door Range Rover was introduced, as well as automatic transmission on the more luxurious models. Land Rover didn’t miss out either. It now came with the option of a V8 engine and coil-spring suspension – a result of the lessons learned from the Range Rover. (Fuel injection would become an added feature in 1985.)
Although the Range Rover was not officially on sale in the United States, many people imported the vehicles privately – all the more remarkable given the fact that were opting for a vehicle with limited on-road performance and no official sales or servicing franchise.
Then, a breakthrough. In 1985, Range Rover of North America was established to pave the way for a US launch in 1987. When this happened, sales of the Range Rover climbed to unprecedented heights (even defying the 1991 decline in the luxury import market), and once more the company struggled to meet demand.
In 1986, Land Rover started production on "Project Jay" – the junior Range Rover. It relied on the Range Rover chassis with a smaller body; the interior was designed by the Conran Design Studio; and various engine options were developed as an economical alternative to the V8.
The result of this hard work, the three-door Land Rover Discovery emerged at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1989 – where at least one person was found surreptitiously scraping samples from the dashboard of the new car! With the addition of a five-door version the following year, and a facelift in 1994, the Discovery carved out a new niche for Land Rover - the "Family 4X4".
A year later, shortly after the acquisition of the Rover Group by BMW, a brand new, larger bodied Range Rover was launched. The original Range Rover slipped out of production in 1996, but as many as 70% are still in use around the world.
The latest chapter in this fifty year story is the Freelander – a new contender in the small 4X4 sports/leisure market with the off-road abilities its forebears have made legendary. In partnership with its Defender, Discovery and Range Rover stable mates, the Freelander is part of a peerless family of four-wheel-drive vehicles. From a 1947 "stop-gap" product to a motoring legend, the Land Rover brand is uniquely qualified to take four-wheel-drive versatility, safety and adventure into the 21st century. Thank you Maurice and Spencer Wilks for a job well done!