The Range Rover is a large luxury four-wheel drive sport utility vehicle produced by British
car maker Land Rover, a subsidiary of Jaguar Land Rover, and serves as its flagship model.
The model, launched in 1970, is now in its fourth generation. Land Rover has expanded
the Range Rover model line to include two entirely different designs: the Range Rover
Evoque and the Range Rover Sport that derive core styling, brand identity and breadth of
capability from the current Range Rover model.
History The Rover Company had been experimenting with
a larger model than the Land Rover Series as far back as 1951, when the Rover P4-based
two-wheel-drive "Road Rover" project was developed by Gordon Bashford. This was shelved in 1958,
and the idea lay dormant until 1966, when engineers Spen King and Gordon Bashford set
to work on a new model. In 1967, the first Range Rover prototype was
built, with the classic Range Rover shape clearly discernible, but with a different
front grille and headlight configuration. The design of the Range Rover was finalised
in 1969. Twenty-six Velar engineering development vehicles were built between 1969 and 1970
and were road registered with the number plates YVB151H through to YVB177H. The Velar name
was derived from the Italian "velare" meaning to veil or to cover. Range Rover development
engineer Geof Miller used the name as a decoy for registering pre-production Range Rovers.
The Velar company was registered in London and produced 40 pre-production vehicles that
were built between 1967 and 1970. Most of these Velar pre-production vehicles are accounted
for and have survived into preservation. The Range Rover was launched in 1970. In the
early 1970s, the Musée du Louvre in Paris exhibited a Range Rover as an "exemplary work
of industrial design". In 1972, the British Trans-Americas Expedition
became the first vehicle-based expedition to traverse the Americas from north-to-south,
including traversing the roadless Darién Gap. The specially modified Range Rovers used
for this expedition are now on display in the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust
collection at Gaydon, Warwickshire. Before 1987, Land Rover vehicles were only
sold in the United States through the grey market. The Land Rover company began selling
the Range Rover officially in the U.S. on 16 March 1987. From that time until 1993,
the U.S. marketing was all in the name of Range Rover, because it was the only model
offered in the American market. In 1993, with the arrival of the Defender 110 and the imminent
arrival of the Land Rover Discovery, the company's U.S. sales were under the name "Land Rover
North America". In 2005, Land Rover launched another model
under the Range Rover brand – the Range Rover Sport, which was based on the Land Rover
Discovery platform, but the new Range Rover Sport has the latest Range Rover platform.
In 2011, the Range Rover Evoque was launched. The Range Rover
First generation
The first-generation Range Rover was produced between 1970 and 1996.
Unlike other 4x4s such as the Jeep Wagoneer, the original Range Rover was not designed
as a luxury-type vehicle. While certainly up-market compared to preceding Land Rover
models, the early Range Rovers had fairly basic, utilitarian interiors with vinyl seats
and plastic dashboards that were designed to be washed down with a hose. Convenience
features such as power steering, carpeted floors, air conditioning, cloth/leather seats,
and wooden interior trim were fitted later. The Range Rover was a body-on-frame design
with a box section ladder type chassis, like the contemporary Series Land Rovers. The Range
Rover utilised coil springs as opposed to leaf springs, permanent four-wheel drive,
and four-wheel disc brakes. The Range Rover was originally powered by the Rover V8 engine.
Later models were powered by a 4.4 L BMW V8, until the introduction of a 3.6 litre
TDV8 engine. Originally, the Range Rover was fitted with
a detuned 135 hp version of the Buick-derived Rover V8 engine. In 1984, the engine was fitted
with Lucas fuel injection, boosting power to 155 hp. The 3.5 litre engine was bored
out to a displacement of 3.9 litres for the 1990 model year, and 4.2 litre in 1992 for
the 108-inch Long Wheelbase Vogue LSE. One of the first significant changes came in 1981,
with the introduction of a four-door body. Shortly after they introduced twin thermo
fan technology to reduce significant overheating problems 1970s models experienced in Australia.
In 1988, LR introduced a durable 2.4 litre turbodiesel arrived with 112 bhp, manufactured
by Italian VM Motori. The same engine was also available in the Rover SD1 passenger
car. The diesel project was codenamed project Beaver. During the project, 12 world records
were broken, including the fastest diesel SUV to reach 100 mph, and the furthest a
diesel SUV has travelled in 24 hours. In 1990 project Otter was unvieled. This was a mildly
tuned 2.5 litre, 119 bhp version of the 'Beaver' 2.4. In 1992, Land Rover finally
introduced their own diesel engines in the Range Rover, beginning with the 111 bhp 200TDi,
first released in the Land Rover Discovery and following in 1994, the 300 TDi, again
with 111 bhp. The very first Range Rover was a green model
with the registration "YVB 151H", and is now on exhibition at Huddersfield Land Rover Centre,
Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. The first generation model was known as the
Range Rover until almost the end of its run, when Land Rover introduced the name Range
Rover Classic to distinguish it from its successors. Australian assembly
Jaguar-Rover-Australia began assembly of the Range Rover from CKD kits at its Enfield plant,
in New South Wales, Australia in 1979. Government increases in the tariff on parts lead to Australian
assembly being discontinued in 1983. Utility vehicles
The first-generation Range Rover served as the base for specialist utility vehicles.
These included the Carmichaels International six-wheel Fire Tender. This was a two-door
model with an extended chassis and a third "lazy" axle added. Designed for small airfield
use, it had a water-pump mounted on the front bumper driven directly by the V8's crankshaft.
The MoD purchased them for the RAF, this version was called the TACR2. Carmichaels was contracted
to supply the modified chassis and the fire-fighting body was supplied and mounted by Gloster-Saro.
These were four-door versions using an internally mounted water-pump driven by a gearbox PTO.
At least one of these has been converted into a full 6x6 by linking a drive-through unit
to the two rear axles' differentials.
Second generation
After 25 years from the introduction of the first-generation Range Rover, the second-generation
Range Rover—model-designation P38A—was introduced for the 1995 model year, with an
updated version of the Rover V8 engines. There was also the option of a 2.5 litre BMW six-cylinder
turbo-diesel with a BOSCH injection pump. This was the first Diesel injection with electronic
controls in a Land Rover, before common rails were introduced. This was a result of BMW's
subsequent ownership of Rover Group and hence the Land Rover brand. The new model offered
more equipment and premium trims, positioning the vehicle above the Land Rover Discovery
to face the increased competition in the SUV marketplace. This model was the last to feature
the Rover V8 and interior leather supplied by Connolly who went out of business in 2002.
It was the first model to feature Satellite Navigation as an option.
Third generation
In 2002, the third-generation model was introduced which saw the model move further up-market.
Planned and developed under BMW ownership the third generation was to share components
and systems with the 7 Series. It was designed to accommodate BMW's M62 V8 engines for future
models. The manual transmission was dropped entirely, leaving only the automatic. The
7 Series electronics system was being phased out during the development of the third-generation
Range Rover and being replaced with the electronics from the BMW E39 5 Series.
Fourth generation
The fourth generation Range Rover, codenamed L405 was exhibited in September 2012 at the
2012 Paris Motor Show. Hybrid version
The Range Rover Hybrid is diesel-powered hybrid electric model unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt
Motor Show. The ordering process began in September 2013, and retail deliveries in Europe
are slated to start in early 2014. Sales
Range Rover Sport
On 26 November 2004, Land Rover released the first photographs of the Range Rover Sport,
a new model it planned to show to the public for the first time at the 2005 North American
International Auto Show. The Range Rover Sport is a production car development of the Range
Stormer concept vehicle the company showcased in the 2004 North American International Auto
Show. Though called the Range Rover Sport, it was not merely a new specification within
the Range Rover line-up, but rather an entirely new vehicle, based on the Discovery/LR3 chassis.
This model was released for sale in late 2005 as a 2006 model. In 2013 a new completely
redesigned version was released for sale as a 2014 model year. Unlike the original, it
is completely based on the current flagship Range Rover with almost identical equipment
and capabilities in a smaller body style. Range Rover Evoque
The Range Rover Evoque, which went into production in July 2011, has its roots in the Land Rover
LRX concept car; with which it bears an almost identical resemblance. It is available with
either a three-door or five-door hatchback body, front-wheel drive or four-wheel drive
and with a 2-litre turbocharged petrol engine or one of two different power output 2.2-litre
turbo-diesel engines. In 2012, at the Geneva Motor Show, Land Rover
unveiled a convertible concept, which featured four seats and a drop-down tailgate.
Criticism The Range Rover brand has attracted some controversy,
particularly from those concerned with the potential negative environmental impact of
large, luxury vehicles. In 2005, members of Greenpeace temporarily disrupted Range Rover
production at the Land Rover plant in Solihull. In 2004, Spen King criticised SUV owners who
drove their vehicles in urban areas, saying that vehicles like the Range Rover he created
were "never intended as a status symbol but later incarnations of my design seem to be
intended for that purpose." See also
Criticism of sport utility vehicles References
External links Official website
Range Rover at DMOZ