Little Book of Land Rover

By Charlotte Morgan

Little Book of Land Rover takes a trip down memory lane and remembers the models that drove their way into the Nation s hearts.. Foreword by motoring historian Stephen Vokins, archivist at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, and one of the foremost authorities on the story of the legendary marque. Launched in 1948 the Land Rover had some unexpected owners including King George VI and Winston Churchill and once the British Army embraced it as their vehicle of choice, the Land Rover s place in motoring s hall of fame was secured The story started with the Series 1, but the family expanded with the arrival of the Range Rover, Defender, Discovery and Freelander not to mention the purpose-built variations for the military and emergency services so come on a journey to relive the birth of the 4 X 4. This is a fantastic 128-page hardback book celebrating one of the most iconic motoring brands in the world that celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2008.

• Language: English
• Publisher: G2 Rights
• Release date: Aug 20, 2013
• ISBN: 9781908461254

Book preview

Chapter 1: Introduction

This is the story of the Land Rover, a British institution, one that in its predominantly dark green livery is nearly as recognisable as the scarlet post boxes or London buses, or the old dark blue policeman’s helmet. It was a victory of content over style, a triumph of functionality that over the years was paradoxically to become an icon of style.

Setting the evolution of the Land Rover in context, a short history of the Rover car company is followed by an examination of the upsurge in its fortunes brought about by two brothers, Spencer and Maurice Wilks, who were also to be pivotal in the development of this vehicle. There are concise examinations of all the major Land Rover models as they have been created although there isn’t enough space in this book to encompass every variant.

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*Freelander and Discovery on display.

The story begins in the austere days after the Second World War with the invention of the prototype Land Rover (which later came to be known as Series I) and its launch in 1948, followed by the Series II models from 1958 onwards and the Series III from 1971 to 1985.

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*Land Rover badge and front grille.

Not content with having created the commercial off-road vehicle market out of nothing, the company repeated the trick. From 1970, the company developed the luxury off-road market with its Range Rover, and proved that it could innovate as successfully at the top of the market as in the utilitarian field.

Later the original Land Rovers were replaced with the Ninety and One Ten models, which from 1990 were rebranded as the Defender. This name was allegedly dreamed up in a Boston bar although, given the company’s military connotations, it sounds a logical choice.

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*Range Rover badge and front grille.

A year earlier, the company had launched the Discovery as its riposte to the Japanese invasion of the newly emergent lifestyle 4x4 market. Yet again, the experiment has paid dividends, such that the Discovery has emulated the Land Rover by running to three generations. Finally, in terms of the stars of the story, there is the Freelander, unveiled in 1997 to compete with smaller rivals.

There has also been a long-running connection between Land Rover and the Army, not to mention various police forces and fire brigades and a chapter examines this link in detail.

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*Land Rovers have been used on all sorts of terrains and in all sorts of enviroment.

Over and above these uniformed Land Rovers, there have also been a plethora of special vehicles down through the years. Some of these have proved long-standing, some short-lived, but another chapter looks at the most interesting of these specials.

Chapter 2: History of Rover

It was the least likely of beginnings for Rover when James Starley and Josiah Turner founded the Coventry Sewing Machine Company in 1861. However, Starley was also known as the father of the safety cycle and was forever looking at ways of reducing risk in cycling – the company began making bicycles in 1869. There was some crossover with the company of Sutton and Starley that was formed in 1878 under the management of John Kemp Starley, his nephew, with William Sutton. The company introduced the first Rover tricycle to the production line in 1883, and the Rover Safety Bicycle in 1885.

In 1888, the Rover Electric Carriage was developed, known as Coventry’s first car, although it was more of an electric tricycle. The following year, Sutton departed and the company became JK Starley and Co. Still, the main brand name was gradually taking over and the Rover Cycle Company began in 1894. Even though Starley died in 1901, the experimentation continued and 1903 saw the first of its Motor Cycles coming onto the market.

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*An early Rover at the 1905 Olympia Motor Show.

The company’s first recognisable car started to be developed in 1904 by Edmund Lewis and in 1906 it was launched successfully as an eight-horsepower single-cylinder vehicle. That same year, cycle production ceased and the name was changed to the Rover Car Company. A major publicity coup followed when the Rover 16/20hp model beat all its rivals by over 12 minutes in the 1907 Isle of Man TT Race, giving it a kudos that lasted until 1914.

After the First World War, the company resumed operations and in the 1920s the Rover Eight and Rover Ten were steady sellers. There was another public relations bonanza when the Rover Light Six beat Le Train Bleu in a race across France from St Raphael to Calais in 1930.

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*James Starley was also known as the father of the safety cycle

However, the company was saddled with too many vehicle lines and struggled into the 1930s, making far more cars than it was able to sell. Total collapse was looming when Spencer Wilks arrived, soon took over