Land Rover

A Catalogue of Web Links

Copyright 1996-2002 by T.F. Mills, [email protected]
(Denver, Colorado)
Last update:  25.04.2002
   
Email policy:  I regret that due to the volume of mail received, I cannot answer all queries.   Technical and mechanical questions are best addressed to [email protected].

Contents

Land Rover Texts and Compilations by T.F. Mills
Remote Links

Official Sites
Major Unofficial Sites
The Vehicles
Dealers, Parts, Restoration
Maintenance and Mechanics
Clubs

Four Wheeling
Races, Expeditions, Etc.
Rocky Mountain Trails
Toys, Art, Collectibles
Bibliography, Filmography, Etc.
Other Internet Automotive Sites

What Is Land Rover?

Land Rover. [excerpted from Brewer's Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Phrase and Fable (Houghton Mifflin, 1992), p. 341] Any of a range of four-wheel drive utility vehicles built by the British Rover Company and renowned the world over for their rugged performance in all terrains. Design work on the Land Rover started in 1947 to provide the Rover Car Company with a stop-gap model to fill their post-war production vacuum. It was inspired by the US Jeep, which was proving popular with farmers after the war. The Land Rover was launched at the Amsterdam Motor Show in 1948, priced at 450 pounds sterling. The engine and transmission, taken from Rover's saloon cars, were fitted to a sturdy box-section chassis. The body, with its simple flat panels, made few concessions to creature comfort: the early models had only a canvas cab roof, and a cab heater was not available until 1950. The new model proved an instant success. In 1954 a 107-inch long-wheelbase version was introduced to give greater load space and the power unit was upgraded; three years later came the first diesel versions. Many variants had emerged by the mid-1950s, including a Station Wagon and Fire Engine, while the armed forces quickly appreciated the Land Rover's versatility. By 1958 production had topped 200,000 units, with over 70% going for export. Rover was taken over by British Leyland in 1967, but the company's plans for a luxurious up-market stable-mate for the Land Rover were unaffected, and the Range Rover was launched in 1970. During the 1970s and 1980s the Land Rover faced stiff competion from Japanese manufacturers, so that by the mid-1980s the Land Rover 90 and 110 series offiered such options as turbo-charged engines and stereo radio-cassette players -- a far cry from the original spartan vehicles. In 1988 Land Rover was acquired by British Aerospace, as part of the Rover Group. 

Epilogue:  BAe sold the Rover Group to BMW in 1994, and in 2000 the Rover Group was broken up, with Land Rover being purchased by Ford.

Official Land Rover Sites

Major Unofficial Web Sites

The Vehicles

Dealers, Parts, Restoration & Accessories

Maintenance and Mechanics

Clubs

Races, Expeditions, Etc.

Four Wheeling

Toys, Art, Collectibles

 

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Bibliography, Filmography, Etc.

Rocky Mountain Trails

Other Internet Automotive Sites
 

 



Page created 1 August 1995.