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ecember of 2015 will mark the end of an era when a 67 year old iconic British 4X4 will cease to exist. The vehicle in question can trace its roots back to 1947 on a beach in Anglesey awhere the foundations of its design were drawn in the sand and the wheels were set in motion for the creation of arguably the ultimate all terrain vehicle manufacturer; Land Rover. Land Rover was founded as an automobile manufacturer in 1978 however in truth, the name Land Rover had been around since 1948 but as a specific model name used by the Rover Company. Today Land Rover is a multi-national corporation that currently contains 6 models in their vehicle line up but it’s the Defender that epitomises the original principles of the brand; to create a vehicle that can go anywhere at any time. This rugged utilitarian vehicle is a direct descendant of the original Land Rover built by the Wilks brothers 67 years ago but 2018 will see the introduction of a drastically face lifted vehicle designed to look less angular like the rest of the model range, hence putting an end to the iconic box shaped 4X4 silhouette. In the late 1940’s post war Britain was in financial trouble; the demands of running a cross continental war effort had left the government with little to work with and with Europe in ruins,
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Maurice Wilks, Land Rover Co-Founder
overseas and continental trade that the nation relied on wasn’t what it once was. During the War the Rover Company had built Rolls Royce aircraft engines at their Solihull factory but with engines no longer in such high demand and with car building materials like steel harshly rationed, Rover couldn’t warrant starting up production to build their luxury pre-war designs. The solution was a ‘stop-gap’ vehicle that could tide the company over until rationing ended and they could go back to building luxury vehicles. Such a vehicle needed to be simple to design, cheap to build, require minimal tooling/assembly and preferably use as little sheet metal as possible; little did they know that this restrictive formula would produce an automobile that would become the second longest run of uninterrupted production. The Land Rover story begins, ironically, with a WW2 Willy’s Jeep whose owner Maurice Wilks used it as a farm vehicle at his home on the Isle of Anglesey, Wales. Infatuated by his Jeep, Wilks drove it everywhere but as the Jeep wasn’t being exported to the UK and parts were military surplus and had to be purchased in bulk, it would become redundant. This revelation highlighted a gap in the market for a farm vehicle that was smaller than a tractor but was more versatile and rugged without being cumbersome.
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irst drawn in the sands of Red Wharf Bay, the prototype Land Rover, nicknamed ‘Centre Steer‘ because of its tractor inspired central steering column, was designed in 1947 to be Rover’s ‘stop-gap’ and comprised of a mixture of Jeep and Rover parts. The vehicle used the chassis out of the Jeep and the four-cylinder 40hp engine and transmission from the pre-war Rover 10 but moved the engine block and cab forward to extend the load space from 31” in the Jeep to 37” in the Land Rover. The prototype seated three; the driver in the centre (an effort to remove the need for right and left hand versions) with two passengers on either side, had no roof and was constructed using a lightweight aluminium alloy used in aircraft manufacturing called ‘Birmabright’ that was easier to work than steel and crucially, was readily available due to the slow down in aircraft production. Another characteristic of an aluminium alloy is that it’s resistant to corrosion which is handy when you’re creating an all terrain vehicle.
Centre Steer Prototype
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he first Land Rover, later dubbed the Series I Land Rover, debuted at the Amsterdam Motor Show in 1948 and attracted widespread interest from around the world and before they knew it, Rover were inundated with more orders than they could process. A production Land Rover, whilst retaining the essence of the prototype, was a much more accomplished vehicle that made good use of the resources available to the manufacturer and gained widespread support from both the farming community and general public. Based upon a sturdy 80� boxsection ladder chassis, the Series I body coalesced from three separate panels that could be easily and independently unbolted; all of which were hand beaten aluminium alloy body panels (the same metal was used until the early 80’s) that were shaped with simple folds. The engine from the prototype was replaced by the more powerful 50hp 4-cylinder engine from the Rover
Land Rover Series I
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Series I Featuring A Canvas Roof
P3 complete with power take-offs for powering external machinery and the transmission consisted of a modified Rover gearbox fitted with a transfer case and a four wheel drive unit that made descending steep inclines easier. Unlike the prototype, the steering column was moved to the conventional position because it was impractical to have it in the centre but the interior retained the three seat layout and a roof, canvas or hard top, was an optional extra. Styling options were limited, partly because as a utilitarian commercial vehicle, function took precedent over aesthetics but also because the only colour available was green army surplus aircraft paint. The first model to roll off the production line with registration ‘HUE 166’, nicknamed ‘Huey’, still survives in the Heritage Motor Museum in Gaydon and is an 80” wheelbase model with a canvas roof, is painted green and features recessed headlights behind a metal grille. Production of the Series I spanned a duration of 10 years from 1948-1958 and the decade saw a series of improvements to the vehicle including an engine capacity upgrade in ’51 to a 2.0L four-
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cylinder, a load bay extension in ’54, increasing the 80” model to 86” and a selection of alternative body styles to the standard model. These included a 107” pick-up and a second attempt at a station wagon because the Tickford (of Aston Martin and Rolls Royce fame) coach built model complete with luxury interior and wooden framed body work cost twice that of the standard £450 (£15,000 today), largely due to the addition of Purchase tax from which the Land Rover was usually exempt as it was considered a commercial vehicle and not intended for leisure usage. By 1951 it was evident that the Land Rover was more than a ‘stop-gap’ because after selling 8000 units in the first year, 3000 more than predicted, it was now outselling all Rover models by a ratio of 2:1. Though unexpected, the success of the Land Rover makes sense when you consider that with a high ground clearance, a short front-end ideal for ascending inclines, flat body panels that could be stood on and easily maintained parts the vehicle was perfectly suited for all-terrain driving.
Land Rover Production Line
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hough the farm was the Land Rovers home turf, it’s off road capabilities meant it was perfectly suited for challenging expeditions and travelled all over the world, helping to get legends like Sir Ranulph Fiennes and his fellow explorers to the most remote areas of the globe. Off road endurance races were also the forte of Land Rover as they competed in events like the Dakar Rally and Camel Trophy; a race that they dominated as the vehicles used by all teams for all but two of the years the event ran for. Also, the Land Rover’s tendency towards glove trotting, often as Humanitarian envoys, means that it’s estimated to be the first vehicle seen by a third of the Earth’s population; a statistic that only solidifies it as one of the most influential vehicles ever manufactured.
Camel Trophy Defender 110
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he Series II Land Rover began production in 1958 as an updated version of its predecessor that had revived the fortunes of the Rover Company and made the name Land Rover the by-word for four-wheel drive utilitarian vehicles around the world. Understandably, Rover was careful not to tamper with the formula so minor adjustments were made, increasing the body width and sills to accommodate the larger chassis of which there were now only two options; a 88” short and 109”long wheel base made to accommodate the new 72 HP 2.25L petrol engine. Styling wise, the only real adjustment was the introduction of more sculpted ‘barrel’ side panels; the slight curve beneath the side windows, that remained a constant design element going forward.
Land Rover Series II
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Land Rover Series II Off-road
During this period, in addition to the existing 7 and 10 seat Station Wagon, a 109” 12 seat version was introduced to take advantage of UK tax laws that stated any vehicle with 12 seats or more was considered a bus and therefore could use Bus Lanes and if registered correctly, be exempt from the London Congestion Charge. This unusual status also meant that the Land Rover’s owner wasn’t required to pay Purchase Tax or Vehicle Tax, effectively making it a cheaper option than the other versions and a layout that was exploited until 2002.
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t the opposite end of the country in the Scottish Highlands, snowplough manufacturer James A Cuthbertson Ltd was converting Series I and II Land Rovers into vehicles that could traverse the marshy and remote areas of the region. This bizarre looking vehicle exists because Land Rovers with standard wheels would get stuck in the soft ground but by fitting tank style tracks in their place, the pressure exerted on the ground is reduced because of the increased contact area, allowing the vehicle to move over wet and marshy without getting bogged down. Of the 15 Cuthbertson converted Land Rovers that are thought to have been made, each basically consists of a standard body that was lowered onto a sub-frame chassis with a triangular shaped track in place of each wheel.
Cuthbertson Tracked Land Rover Series II
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Cuthbertson Tracked Land Rover
When in two wheel drive the front tracks are steerable conventionally but when four-wheel drive is engaged, each track is powered by a different motion to improve traction, a quantity of which it had plenty provided the vehicle wasn’t trying to ascend a steep slope. In addition to this, the height of the vehicle was a doubleedged sword because although it had excellent ground clearance, it also made the Land Rover unstable and liable to topple over without much persuasion. This was primarily down to the shape of the tracks; unlike conventional tank style tracks that slope forward at the front that meant traction would be generated when the front of the track came into contact with the bank, the Cuthbertson’s tracks only had a small area of contact with the bank when they first come into contact which in turn, results in the vehicle not being able to get up the slope.
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The Series II was a short lived model, being replaced by the Series IIA in 1961 that would become the best selling Land Rover model over the period of a year, selling 60,000 Series IIA’s between 1969 and, 70% of which were exported mostly to Europe, Africa and the Middle East. To put this into context, since the 90’s Defender sales have hovered around 25,000 a year. During this decade Rover was absorbed into the automotive manufacturing conglomerate British Leyland and Land Rover dominated the 4X4 market in many countries with a survey in 1966 showing that Land Rover held one third of the global market for 4X4 utility vehicles with variations of just one model. Perhaps more interestingly, another survey showed two thirds of Land Rovers were now being used for recreational purposes or general transportation as opposed to being used for agricultural and utilitarian reasons as they were originally intended. Again adjustments were minor, most notably the addition of a new 2.25L Diesel engine and in 1969, the movement of the headlamps from their classic position in the grille to the wings on either side of it to comply with new European regulations. AA Highland Patrol Land Rover
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Land Rover Fire Engine
Back in 1948 when the Land Rover debuted as a simple utilitarian vehicle the sheer number of uses for the vehicle was unanticipated and ever since its creation the number of cases where a standard vehicle has been adapted to perform specific tasks or provide a service has consistently increased. The Land Rovers simple but sturdy design made it the go to vehicle for not only those hoping to add excitement to their lives by going off the beaten track, but for those in the business of saving lives, being regularly converted to emergency Ambulance, Fire and Police vehicles that were required to reach remote locations without delay. Along with Mountain Rescue, The AA, RAC, United Utilities and British Telecom (who occasionally used the previously mentioned Cuthbertson Tracked Land Rover in Scotland),Land Rover vehicles were used by the Forestry Commission who converted a Series IIA into a vehicle known as the Forest Rover.
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uring the 1950’s the Forestry Commission were getting increasingly frustrated with their Land Rovers getting stuck on rutted forest tracks and obstructed by fallen trees and so they had a 109” wheelbase Series IIA adapted to accommodate tractor type wheels. Roadless Traction Ltd were commissioned to convert the vehicle, replacing the front fenders with tractor style wheel arches and swapping out the axels with Studebaker versions to fit the new wheels that resulted in a 12M wide turning circle. In 1961, after rigorous testing by Land Rover’s Special Projects department, the vehicle was approved which meant it could be marketed as the ‘Roadless 109’ although production didn’t last long as only 20 examples are thought to have been created with two surviving today.
Forestry Commission ‘Forest Rover’
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nother major Land Rover client are the MoD (Ministry of Defence) who have used adapted vehicles from the manufacturer since their introduction in 1948 as ways of transporting equipment and Army personnel behind the front line. Initially batches of 50 vehicles were ordered at once but by the 50’s, this had been increased to 200 at a time and later, during the 60’s, the number of different militarised Land Rovers being created had increased dramatically to include a variety of armoured and weaponized vehicles. One of these vehicles was a Land Rover Half Ton Lightweight, a modified Series IIA created to be dropped into combat by the use of a Westland Wessex Helicopter that could carry 1140KG payload; less than the standard Series IIA model. Originally the MoD experimented with parachuting the lightweight, fastening it onto a standard size pallet but they had little success and so airlifting the modified 88” wheelbase Land Rover by helicopter was the only option.
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Half Ton Lightweight Series IIA
In order to airlift the vehicle, any non-essential equipment was removed and the Land Rovers wheelbase had to be reduced 4� in width by redesigning the chassis with shorter axels so that it could fit onto the pallet. In practice the roof, upper body parts, doors and windscreens had to be removed before being airlifted because fully assembled; the modified Land Rover was actually heavier than the original but with the detachable parts removed and improvements in helicopter technology, it was possible to fly the vehicle into combat. Land Rover 101 Forward Control
Land Rover Half Ton Lightweight
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Land Rover 101 Forward Control
The majority of vehicles prepared for the MoD were modified versions of civilian vehicles but during the early 70’s, production of a purpose built ‘Gun Tractor’ designed to tow a field artillery gun with lots of ammunition and extra equipment in the rear load space. The Land Rover 101 Forward Control, like the half ton lightweight, was designed to be easily transported by air and so needed to take up as little space as possible in the aircraft but at the same time make efficient use of this space and as a result, the vehicles 3.5L Rover V8 engine was positioned below the cab to eliminate the bonnet at the front. Production lasted for three years, ending in 1978 but in practice the military used the 101 Forward Control up until the late 1990’s.
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fter ten years in production, the Series IIA was no more and in 1971, the Series III was introduced. Aesthetically it was very similar to its predecessor with the exception of the front grille which had been changed from metal to plastic; a move unpopular with some because in certain parts of the world they were occasionally used as impromptu barbecues. The majority of changes to the vehicle were mechanical, most notably the addition of 5 main bearing crankshafts, strengthened transmission axels and wheel hubs, increasing rigidity in an effort to combat the snapping of rear axle half-shafts when the vehicle was overloaded.
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Land Rover Series III
The early 70’s also saw the first real interior change in a Land Rover with more luxurious trim levels being introduced, the metal dash converted to sculpted plastic that also resulted in the movement of instruments from the centre to in front of the driver and in the case of the Pickup model, an increase in load space by 25%. Although 440,000 Series III Land Rovers were sold during production, making it the best selling model so far, the 70’s was a turbulent time for the brands parent company British Leyland. In 1975 BL Plc was nationalised in order to stabilise the British Automotive Industry and then restructured following recommendations in a report issued by the Labour Government of the time. Three years later further changes were made when the Land Rover Group was formed as a subsidiary of BL and later in 1980, Rover production was moved from the Solihull plant, allowing all aspects of the Land Rover manufacture, which had previously been split into several plants, to be brought together.
Land Rover Series III
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In the midst of British Leyland’s demise in the mid 70’s, the only manufacturer within its empire that was actually making any money was Land Rover and even the 4X4 maker was having difficulties. Japanese competitors like the Toyota Land cruiser; a vehicle that, on the face of it was very similar to Land Rover but where it had an advantage was its engine – a 3.8L straight six with an unparalleled amount of torque and build quality that made Land Rover’s engines look insignificant in comparison. In an attempt to keep the manufacturer competitive, the government of the time authorised a £200 million investment programme to allow Land Rover to develop new models to combat the Japanese market invasion.
Land Rover Series III Off-road
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Land Rover Stage 1 V8
The Land Rover ‘Stage 1’ V8 was, as the name suggests, the first stage in the process and acted as a short term solution to rival the Land cruiser. The only engine that could compete with the Land Cruisers was the V8 from the Range Rover and so this engine and its connected drive train were fitted to a 109” Series III chassis making it a much more capable off roader with permanent four-wheel drive. The V8 had enough low range torque to climb a 1-in-1 slope (45°) and could cruise at high speed in a way that Land Rovers had never done before and, as a result make the British vehicle once again competitive. In order to accommodate the V8 in the engine bay, the radiator had to be moved forward to make room for a water pump pulley and as a result the grille was moved forward to be level with the headlights, a feature that would be transferred to the next generation of Land Rovers in 1983 although Stage 1 V8 production continued until 1985.
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The final stage of the investment programme funded the replacement of the Series III with the Land Rover One Ten in 1983 and the shorter wheelbase Land Rover Ninety a year later in ’84. The new models, so called because of the length of their chassis’, retained much of their classic shape with the exception of the movement of the grille forward and wider tracked axles which in turn caused the body to be widened but once again, it was the Land Rovers mechanical adjustments that were most significant. New, more powerful engines were added to the line up including 2.5L Diesels with modern fuel injection and leaf spring suspension, which had been used since the first Land Rover, was exchanged for coil sprung suspension that made for a better ride and more capable off roading and on the inside of the vehicle, an updated interior included luxuries such as cassette players. For the first time the Land Rover was marketed as a Private Recreational Vehicle (mostly in the form of Country Station Wagons) instead of as a working vehicle in Pickup and van configurations, adding optional extras in the form of surfboard carriers and bike racks.
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Larger wheelbase versions of the Utility vehicles and a Turbo Diesel engine were introduced in a bid to tempt Utility companies away from their Japanese rivals amidst another change around in company when British Leyland was divided again in 1986, making Land Rover part of Rover Group Plc.
Two years later Rover Group Plc was privatised when the British Government sold it to British Aerospace who simplified the name, calling it Rover. A year later Land Rover added another vehicle into its line up with the Discovery, their new family oriented 4X4 that in 1990, directly resulted in the changing of the Ninety and One Ten’s names to the Defender to allow the utility vehicle to fit better into the Land Rover range. The Discovery also passed its 200Tdi Turbo diesel engine onto the Defender, providing a 25% improvement in power on the one it replaced meaning that with 107 HP, the Defender could at last cruise comfortably at high speeds and tow heavier loads on steep inclines.
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The Defender spent the 90’s attempting to climb more and more upmarket with the addition of more efficient and powerful engines, plus several special edition vehicles that were more luxurious and included optional extras like air conditioning. Land Rover, at the time part of BAe, was once again sold in 1994 to BMW who also purchased Jaguar and Mini from British ownership at the same time but only six years later, the 4X4 manufacturer was sold for £1.8 Billion to the Ford Motor Company.
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Land Rover Defender
In the years since the second millennium, alterations to the Defender mostly revolved around satisfying various European emissions legislation by fitting more efficient engines, safer seating layouts and new instruments but for the most part, the exterior remained unchanged. The final update was made to the Defender in 2012, after Land Rover was sold again, this time to Indian company Tata Motors, with the addition of another new engine and the re-introduction of a ‘rag top’ roof that had been popular in past Land Rovers. Production of the Defender will end in December 2015 and to celebrate the end of their iconic, box shaped vehicle, Land Rover has re-enacted Maurice Wilks’ actions 67 years earlier by using six Land Rovers towing chain harrows to draw the iconic shape of the Defender a kilometre wide in the sands of Red Wharf Bay. Three limited edition Defenders were launched at the start of 2015, Heritage and Adventure versions embody Land Rover’s qualities and the Autobiography version unites luxury with capability. Land Rover Defender Heritage Edition
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Whilst the Defender name will return to showrooms in 2018 as an all new vehicle to replace the current Defender, the iconic silhouette that has come to represent Land Rover as a brand will not and the last vehicle that whole heartedly represents the vision of the Wilks brothers will roll off the production line and with it, the end of an era in which a vehicle that began with so little, could do so much.
Land Rover Defender Adventure Edition
Land Rover Defender Autobiography Edition
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SF
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