Search

Land Rover began in 1948 with a sketch in the sand on a Welsh beach: Maurice Wilks, Rover's chief designer, wanted a British answer to the war-surplus Jeep he used on his farm. The Series I that followed was built from aluminium because steel was rationed, and it was so useful, on farms, in the army and on expeditions, that the Solihull factory could not keep up. The Series and later Defender stayed in production, in one form or another, until 2016.

In 1970 the Range Rover changed the idea of what a 4x4 could be: as capable as a Land Rover off the road, but comfortable and quick enough to live with every day. It created the luxury SUV decades before the term existed, and it gave the brand its second pillar. The Discovery of 1989 added the practical family car, and Freelander and Evoque brought Land Rover into the compact segments.

Today Land Rover, part of JLR alongside Jaguar, is organised around three families: Range Rover, Defender and Discovery. The current Range Rover offers plug-in hybrids and a fully electric version, the reborn Defender has become the brand's best-seller, and every model still has to pass the same test as that first Series I: it has to go where other cars cannot.