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HISTORY OF THE LAND ROVER | PORTFOLIO | OUR FACILITY | RELATED SITES
LAND ROVER
HISTORY 1948 The Beginning of Land Rover The first Land Rover was designed in 1948 in the United Kingdom (on the island of Anglesey in Wales) by Maurice Wilks, chief designer at the British car company Rover on his farm in Newborough, Anglesey. It is said that he was inspired by an American World War II Jeep that he used one summer at his holiday home in Wales. The first Land Rover prototype 'centre steer' was built on a Jeep chassis. A distinctive feature is their bodies, constructed of a lightweight rustproof proprietary alloy of aluminium and magnesium called Birmabright. This material was used because of post war steel shortages and a 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 once advertised that 75% of all vehicles ever built are still in use. In fact, Land Rover drivers sometimes refer to other makes of 4x4 as "disposables".The early choice of colour was dictated by military surplus supplies of aircraft cockpit paint, so early vehicles only came in various shades of light green; all models until recently feature sturdy box section ladder-frame chassis. The early vehicles, such as the Series I, were field-tested at Long Bennington and designed to be field-serviced; advertisements for Rovers cite vehicles driven thousands of miles on banana oil. Now with more complex service requirements this is less of an option. The British Army maintains the use of the mechanically simple 2.5 litre 4-cylinder 300TDi engined versions rather than the electronically controlled 2.5 litre 5-cylinder TD5 to retain some servicing simplicity. This engine also continued in use in some export markets using units built at a Ford plant in Brazil, where Land Rovers were built under license and the engine was also used in Ford pick-up trucks built locally. Production of the TDi engine ended in the United Kingdom in 2006, meaning that Land Rover no longer offers it as an option. International Motors of Brazil offer an engine called the 2.8 TGV Power Torque, which is essentially a 2.8 litre version of the 300TDi, with a corresponding increase in power and torque. All power is combined with an All-Terrain Traction Control which gives active terrain response; Ferrari uses a similar system in race traction. Since its purchase by Ford, Land Rover has been closely associated with Jaguar. In many countries they share a common sales and distribution network (including shared dealerships), and some models now share components and production facilities. The very first Land Rover was dreamt up in the year 1948 in the United Kingdom on the Island of Anglesey by Mr. Maurice Wilks, who was the head designer of the Rover car company in Newborough, Anglesey. His story says that he was inspired to create the Land Rover after driving a Jeep during the summer at his vacation home in Wales. This was reflected by the very first prototype-which was designed on a Jeep undercarriage. Distinct features of the Land Rover include their bodies, which are constructed of lightweight aluminum and magnesium alloys named "Birmabright". The vehicle's ability to resist aging helped build their reputation for endurance in tough and rugged situations. The original color was simply determined because the only supplies available were from the military surplus, so the earlier models only came in a number of light green shades. Since the '70s, in distinct areas of South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia, the Nissan Patrol had taken over as the 4x4 of choice. This was somewhat do to its reputation for sturdiness. In Australia and other areas, pricing supports the Land Rover as a result of the shortened supply. The Nissan Patrol is also found to have a larger engine than the Land Rover, meaning that it is more capable of performing hard labor. In Britain the Land Rover also lost fans within the farming communities when the less expensive Japanese alternatives came onto the markets; Daihatsu Fourtracks, Isuzu Troopers, and Mitsubishi Pajeros. These Japanese models became a common sight on farms all over the country, until they eventually became corroded, and thus their lives as working vehicles came to an end. Land Rover, seeing this as an opportunity and supported by their "through thick and thin" reputation fine tuned their Defender model in the 90s. These renovations introduced more powerful and reliable engines, and now it is a common sight to see a Land Rover in the driveway of many British farms. 2000 Land Rover was Sold to Ford In the year 2000, the Land Rover Company was sold by BMW to the Ford Motor Company, instantly becoming part of their Premier Automotive Collection. 2008 Sell of Land Rover to Tata Motors On 11 June 2007, Ford Motor Company announced its plan to sell Land Rover, along with Jaguar. Ford retained the services of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and HSBC to advise it on the details of the deal. The buyer was initially expected to be announced by September 2007, but the sale was delayed and an announcement was not made until March 2008. A UK-based private equity firm, Alchemy Partners, Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra (both from India) expressed interest in purchasing Jaguar and Land Rover from the Ford Motor Company. Before the sale was announced, Anthony Bamford, chairman of British excavators manufacturer JCB, had expressed interest in purchasing Jaguar Cars in August, the year previously; only to back out when told the sale would also involve Land Rover, which he did not wish to buy. [10] Tata Motors received endorsements from the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU)-Amicus combine and Ford as a preferred bidder. On 26 March 2008, Ford announced that it had agreed to sell its Jaguar and Land Rover operations to Tata Motors, and that the sale was expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2008. On 2 June 2008, the sale to Tata Motors was completed by both parties. Included in the deal were the rights to three other British brands: Jaguar's own Daimler, as well as two dormant brands Lanchester and Rover. BMW and Ford had previously retained ownership of the Rover brand to protect the integrity of the Land Rover brand, with which 'Rover' might be confused in the US 4x4 market; the Rover brand was originally used under license by MG Rover until it collapsed in 2005, at which point it was re-acquired by the then Ford Motor Company owned Land Rover Limited.
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