Land Rover has been a strong car company ever since its inception in 1948. It was patterned after the military jeeps during the second world war and were primarily used as utility vehicles. Fast forward to today, the Land Rover brand is one of the best and most recognizable luxury SUVs in the world. You can even go to any Land Rover car dealer in Auckland, NZ and see some of the best SUVs in the market today.
In honor of the second-oldest four-wheel-drive vehicle in history, here are a few fun things you probably didn’t know about Land Rover:
7 Facts You Didn’t Know About Land Rover
1. Royalty and Nobility.
Some of Land Rovers and Defenders’ most famous owners were noblemen like Sir Winston Churchill, and royalty like the Queen herself (who is such a huge fan!). Actor Steve McQueen is also part of the list.
2. Range Rover and Land Rover weren’t always part of the same company.
German company BMW bought Land Rover in 1994 and split Rover and Land Rover. They then sold Land Rover to Ford in 2000 and continued to be separated until 2006 when Ford bought Range Rover from BMW. They are now part of the same company, Jaguar Land Rover, owned by the Indian company, Tata.
3. Land Rovers existed even before Land Rover came into existence.
The very first Land Rover was introduced to the world in 1948, making it the second oldest four-wheel-drive vehicle after the Willys Jeep. Land Rover, the company, was established in 1978, a full 30 years after the Series I by Rover.
4. Military might!
Land Rover SUVs are used all over the world for military use. Most of its military vehicles make Hummers pale in comparison. Its sheer size is enough to make the Hummer look like a toy car.
5. Jet Rover?
The initial design of Land Rovers was created by then-jet engine designer, Charles S. King. After World War II, King worked for Rolls Royce and helped them design and develop their jet engines. To this day, Rolls Royce is still one of the top players when it comes to jet engines.
6. Front and center.
The Land Rover was inspired by the military jeep and was used by its designer on his farm in Wales. To keep things simple and make it feel like he’s driving a tractor, he put the steering wheel in the middle. This also helped him make different versions for left- and right-hand drivers.
7. Creating monster trucks even before monster trucks were created.
This one came purely out of necessity. In 1950, the British Forestry Commission demanded that an off-road vehicle be made to take on the deepest mud puddles. Land Rover took on the task and put four tractor tires on some Studebaker axels and attached them to a Series IIA. The end product became the world’s very first monster truck.
There are a lot more fun things to discover about one of the world’s favorite luxury SUV brands. Knowing some of these facts will make you appreciate Land Rover even more.
