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The History of Land Rover

At its inception in 1948, Land Rovers were simple four-wheel drive, off-road vehicles. The Rover was purpose-built to be a workhorse and did not transition into a luxury vehicle for many years. As the brand became more well known, this British company released a new model called the Range Rover. But it was not until 1983 and 1984 that different versions of the Range Rover received their own names. At that point, the short-wheelbase version became the One Ten, and the more extended wheel-based Range Rover was badged the Ninety. In 1989, a new Discovery model was introduced.

Before 1978, the company was known as the Rover Company. In '78, the name Land Rover was adopted. However, it was still operated as a part of the Rover Group, where it remained until 1994 when BMW acquired the Rover Group. Six years later, BMW decided to break up the Rover Group, and in 2000, Land Rover was sold to Ford Motor Company. After the acquisition, Ford added the Rover name to its Premier Automotive Group stable. Soon after, the second generation of Range Rover vehicles was released using its first-ever unibody configuration.

The most visible change that Ford brought to the Range Rover line of vehicles was stepping away from the long tradition of very square or boxy frames. This new look for the Rover line filter through the entire line of what is now considered SUVs. But the change that was not visible from the outside was that Ford also began using Jaguar motors in the Range Rover line.

In mid-2007, Ford announced plans to sell both Range Rover and Jaguar. By January of 2008, Tata Motors, a portion of the Tata Group, had completed the purchase and labeled the company Jaguar Land Rover Limited. However, the Jaguar and Land Rover companies operated independently until a substantial restructuring occurred in January of 2013. Currently, the production plants are located in five countries, including the United Kingdom, Brazil, China, India, and Spain.

The Land Rover Line Up

Currently, the Range Rover name adorns five vehicles, including the large all-aluminum body Range Rover SUV, the mid-sized Range Rover Sport, the smaller Range Rover Velar SUV, and the new Range Rover Evoque. Finally, the Range Rover plug-in hybrid offers all of the luxury and excitement expected from a Rover but with a much more innovative power train.

The Discovery is known as the most versatile SUV in its class. At the same time, the Discovery Sport offers that same functionality, but on a smaller scale. The Defender gives the nod to the more traditional square shape of the original Rovers, while still offering 5+2 seating and over 75 cubic feet of cargo space