Land Rovers have been synonymous with the English countryside for decades and we thought it would be interesting to take a look into the history of these fantastic vehicles.
1947 saw the launch of the first Land Rovers, created by Maurice Wilks. The design was influenced by the American Jeep vehicles and the first prototype was nicknamed Centre Steer. The first was actually built on a Jeep's chassis and axle.
The military dictated the choice of colour and the early vehicles came in shades of green. Early Series I vehicles were field tested at Long Bennington and were designed to be field-serviced.
In 1958 saw the introduction of the Series II, and in 1961 the Series IIA also started production.
The 70s saw the introduction of the Range Rover and in 1971 the Series III was launched. In '74 Land Rover abandons the US market after facing stiff competition from Japanese 4x4 brands.
In 1976 Land Rover were absorbed into a division of the British Leyland Motor Corporation (BL) following Leyland Motor Corporation's takeover of Rover in 1967.
In 1976 the one-millionth Land Rover rolls off the production line.
The 80s saw many changes to Land Rover. In '87, the Range Rover is finally introduced to the US market, following many years of demand being filled by grey market sales.
1989, saw the birth of the Discovery and in 1997 saw the introduction of the Freelander.
The early 2000s saw the introduction of the Range Rover Sport. This was a truly exciting time for the brand.
In recent times, in 2011 the Range Rover Evoque was introduced and in 2014 saw the new Discover range being unveiled at the New York Motor Show.
We at H Bowers are all excited to see how the Land Rover family of cars grows and evolves over the years.
H Bowers are a force in the automotive industry with a range of services that are quite unique in the automotive industry. For further information please call 01782 590 700 or email enquiries@bowersautoparts.net