Celebrating Range Rover’s 50th
As one of Britain’s greatest-ever cars reaches its half-century, we look back at its major milestones along the way
1970: the year the Beatles split, Elvis met Nixon, Concorde made its first supersonic flight, the first Glastonbury festival was held, and petrol cost around two pence per litre. It was also the year a British icon was born – the very first Range Rover rolled off the Solihull production line, on 17 June.
Back then, the Range Rover did exactly what it does today, blending unbeatable off-road ability with very British opulence. As the Range Rover celebrates its 50th birthday, it faces challenges from every other luxury and premium car maker that was slower to cotton on to the demand for luxury in an SUV shape. Yet it’s the Range Rover that’s still referenced by every single one of them.
The story starts in 1967, when Land Rover, widely acknowledged as leaders in the 4x4 sector, started work on the ‘100-inch Station Wagon’ aimed predominantly at the US market. Charles Spencer ‘Spen’ King led a team of 20 engineers charged with making a ‘civilised’ Land Rover, with form following function. According to King, “The shape just came as we worked out what was needed in terms of space.”
Although the steel frame was clad in aluminium, what was underneath was arguably more ground-breaking. An all-alloy 3.5-litre V8 gave a top speed of nearly 100mph, a ladder-frame chassis used long-travel coil suspension for a more luxurious ride, a full-time 4x4 system used a vacuum-operated centre differential, and there were disc brakes on all four corners.
Those first three-door cars didn’t exactly reek of luxury, though, with PVC seats and hose-out floorings. In spite of that, the car was instantly designated a design classic, and in 1971 it became the first-ever vehicle to be displayed at the Louvre art museum in Paris.
The car was an instant sales smash, even though it never reached its intended market of the US until 1987. Before then, its travels took it far and wide, with the Range Rover becoming synonymous with adventure.
In 1972 it became the first vehicle to travel the length of the Americas. In 1974 a Range Rover completed the
The Range Rover was an instant design classic, and was the first vehicle to be displayed at the Louvre in Paris
west-to-east Sahara desert expedition, covering 7,500 miles in 100 days. In 1977 a Range Rover won the 4x4 class in the London-Sydney Marathon over an 18,750mile route. Then in 1979, a specially modified Range Rover won the very first Paris-Dakar rally.
Two years later the car gained an extra couple of doors and its first special edition – the Vogue, a name that’s still synonymous with Land Rover’s flagship model.
Technical improvements came thick and fast, although the basic ingredients – including the shape – remained the same. An automatic gearbox was first offered in 1982, while 1986 heralded the arrival of a diesel.
Although the three-door Range Rover ceased to be in 1990, the five-door kept going. In 1994 it was badged the Range Rover Classic and sold alongside the secondgeneration car (codenamed P38a) as part of the Rover Group, now under BMW ownership.
The original finally bowed out in 1996 after 26 years, while after only seven years, the third generation of Range Rover (L322) arrived, in 2001. BMW had transformed the quality of the Range Rover, but the third generation wasn’t to launch under BMW ownership.
Looking back, the German giant has done many things right with its other British brands – MINI and RollsRoyce – but agreeing to sell Land Rover to Ford in 2000 must rank amongst its worst decisions. Land Rover sat within Ford’s Premier Automotive Group, but the Range Rover still benefitted from BMW engines and technology under its more premium-looking third-generation skin.
Success
THE Range Rover’s success was highlighted in 2002, when the half-millionth model rolled off the production line. And that success didn’t go unnoticed at Ford, which bankrolled the launch of a second Range Rover model, the Range Rover Sport, in 2005.
In 2008, Land Rover – along with Jaguar – was sold by Ford to current owners Tata Motors. Two years later, Range Rover celebrated its 40th birthday with the launch of its groundbreaking small model, the Evoque, designed by current chief creative officer, Gerry McGovern. It’s a car that went on to be Auto Express Car of the Year in 2011.
McGovern followed that with his own reinvention of the Range Rover, when the fourth-generation car (L405) arrived in 2012. It brought with it a clean, minimalist look inside and out, and an increased level of luxury and technology. It was the world’s first all-aluminium 4x4, and also became a showcase for Land Rover’s electronic Terrain Response suspension-control system.
A fourth Range Rover model, the Velar, arrived in 2017, taking its name from the 1969 Range Rover prototypes, which wore Velar badges (taken from Alvis and Rover models) to hide the car’s true identity. Today, right up to the Range Rover’s 50th birthday, the innovations keep coming, with long-wheelbase, armoured and plug-in hybrid models all now available.
Over the years, popes, presidents, prime ministers and, of course, Her Majesty The Queen have all ridden in or owned Range Rovers. And the car’s core principles of luxury, performance, estate practicality and cross-country ability stand as true today as they always have, making it a four-in-one car.
A new model is on the horizon, with even more style, luxury, technology and electrification very much to the fore. We can’t wait to see what the next 50 years have in store for one of Britain’s greatest-ever cars.
The Range Rover’s success was highlighted in 2002, when the half-millionth model rolled off the line