Rover never hid the fact that their original Land Rover 4x4, which went on sale in 1948, was inspired by the famous US military Jeep. The Range Rover of 1970, however, was unique. Bigger, heavier, better equipped than any previous Land Rover, it opened up an entirely new type of market. Although it was conceived simply as a ‘bigger Land Rover’, even before it went on sale it had become more of a gentleman’s 4x4, and less of an all-can-do workhorse, and that process carried on inexorably over the next 25 years. By the time the last Range Rover ‘Classic’ was produced in 1995, no fewer than 317,615 had been built.
The first Range Rovers had a 100 in (2540 mm) wheelbase, were powered by a de-tuned version of Rover’s ex-GM V8 engine, had a newly-engineered four-wheel-drive layout, and their beam front and rear axles ran on long-travel coil springs. Not only did the light-alloy-clad estate car body shell look smart, but this was also a vehicle with quite unrivalled on- or off-road abilities.
Although Rover originally looked on the Range Rover as a hard-working and versatile tool which could be used in the most awful conditions (which, indeed, it was, and could), they soon found that more and more customers were using it as a large, high-capacity, estate car which rarely left surfaced roads. Quips that Range Rovers rarely attempted anything more than wet gravel in a supermarket car park were met by Rover with broad smiles and the response: ‘Look at the sales figures’. |
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Although the styling altered only slightly over the years, the specification advanced considerably. Automatic transmission, five forward speeds instead of four, and eventually a fuel-injected version of the engine were all added in the 1980s. A five-door body option within the same overall package was an instant best seller, limited-edition packs called ‘Vogue’ soon became regular options, while the specification, equipment, fittings and features all gradually increased.
By the late 1980s the Range Rover was also available with a diesel engine option (which was much more popular in certain export markets and with businesses than ever it was with private British buyers), and before long the most expensive, highest-specified versions had 200 bhp 4.2-litre engines, longer wheelbase bodies and self-levelling suspensions. Early cars which had a top speed of 92 mph were quite outclassed by these machines, which could top 110 mph, though the fuel consumption was very heavy (worse than 15 mpg).
During the 1990s, the Land Rover Discovery appeared, using the original ‘short’ Range Rover chassis, and from 1994 there was a completely new-generation Range Rover, even faster, more expensive and glossier than ever before. In 20 years, the Range Rover had established an entirely new market sector which left its rivals struggling to catch up.
Bigger and heavier than the Land Rover of 1948, the Range Rover was the first high capacity estate car, which preceded the explosion in 4x4 vehicles of the 1990s.
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