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Land Rover family tree

4K views 9 replies 10 participants last post by  jimmy salmon 
#1 ·
#4 ·
MuddyOval said:
I wish someone could explain the whole Santana thing to me. How do they relate to Land Rovers?
Manufacturing of LR models in Spain during some years by Industrias Santa Ana. I had a 1978 Santana S3 for a few years, great vehicle. They actually manufacture the PS10, good engine (Iveco Tdi 2.8) bad suspension (still a leafer).

The link is great :clap
 
#5 ·
which came first

so the jeep came before the rover, awhile back i was at the local lr dealer talking to a service advisor(a brit) fond of the D90 and i made the remark that lr must have borrowed something from the jeep specs and he proudly stated that the lr was in production long before the jeep ever was....
 
#6 · (Edited)
No, the Jeep was definately first. The Wilks brothers designed the Land Rover after their neighbor's jeep. It was difficult to get parts for the Jeep though and they were looking to build a new model, so they came up with the Series I "Farmer's Friend". :)
 
#7 ·
48vphantom said:
so the jeep came before the rover, awhile back i was at the local lr dealer talking to a service advisor(a brit) fond of the D90 and i made the remark that lr must have borrowed something from the jeep specs and he proudly stated that the lr was in production long before the jeep ever was....

Considering how the Jeep figures in US history, that is a pretty stupid comment on the part of a LR rep. One might think he would have seen 1948 written in enough LR sales literature to get some sense of timing.
 
#8 ·
48vphantom said:
so the jeep came before the rover, awhile back i was at the local lr dealer talking to a service advisor(a brit) fond of the D90 and i made the remark that lr must have borrowed something from the jeep specs and he proudly stated that the lr was in production long before the jeep ever was....
The first Land Rover prototype was actually using a Jeep chassis. I want to say it also was using the Jeep drivetrain, but.... I can't remember that. I'd have to go back to the books..... I am also pretty sure a quick search on the Internet will yield to the full story.

Jeeps were used during the war. Land Rover were built just after the war (and in Aluminium because easier to find than steel which was reserved for specific after-the-war re-construction items).
 
#10 ·
Sept 4:The Land Rover project first fully explained to the Rover Car Company Board of Directors. The project was approved for full production (before the prototype was made)

Oct 15: First photos of finished prototype (80")



Oct 16: The name "Land Rover" was approved by Board of Directors

1948

Apr 20: The Times first publicly reports the Land Rover

Apr 30: Land Rover shown to public at Amsterdam Car show. The vehicle is equipped with permanent four-wheel drive, a canvas roof and optional doors. Doors become standard within months.


1949

First Land Rovers sold into USA and Canada (via Roots Motors, Inc.)

1950

A metal hardtop is offered as an alternative to the canvas roof.

Tickford Stationwagon production starts



April. First show of Land Rover in USA at British Automobile and Motorcycle show

1953

Autumn. Wheelbase lengthened from 80" to 86"

1954

The first 107-inch, long-wheelbase model is introduced.

Autumn. 100,000th Land Rover built

1956

Both short- and long-wheelbase Land Rovers gain two inches to become 88-inch and 109-inch models, respectively.

Autumn. 107" introduced to USA

Land Rover reaches agreement with Metalurgica de Santa Ana, S.A. They build Santana Land Rovers, production reaching 18,000 by 1980.

1957

The first diesel-powered Land Rover is produced.

1958

March. Series II introduced

Land Rover ends relationship with Roots Motors, Inc and established a presence in North America as Rover Motor Company of North America, headquartered in Toronto, Canada

[BREAK]
1959

November. 250,000th Land Rover built

1960

US Land Rover HQ moves to New York, NY

1961

September. Series IIA announced


1962

12 Seat 109 announced for home market (to avoid a tax)

September. 109" Forward Control announced.

1966

April. 500,000th Land Rover built

September. NADA (North American Dollar Area) 109" announced. Rover is first non-US manufacturer to introduce emissions controlled vehicles into USA

1967

June/July. Range Rover prototype #1 built



Rover Motor Company merges with Leyland. Leyland becomes dominant

1968

Leyland merges with British Motor Holdings (owned Jaguar and BMC to form British Leyland Motor Corporation

The Series IIA's headlamps are moved from the radiator grille to the front wings to meet the new lighting regulations of several export territories.

1970

June. Range Rover first appears in public (2 door) The vehicle is equipped with permanent four-wheel drive, a V8 engine, solid axles and coil springs.

1971

June. 750,000th Land Rover built

September. SIII announced

October. SIII launched October with a synchromesh gearbox, a new radiator grille and an all-new interior.



[BREAK]
1974

British Leyland abandons North American Market for Land Rover

4th Quarter: British Leyland nationalized

1975

British Leyland Motor Company changes its name to British Leyland, Ltd.

1976

June. 1,000,000th Land Rover produced

1978

Land Rover, Ltd is formed, with plans to double production by the 1980s.

1979

February. Land Rover V8 (stage 1) announced

1980

British Leyland collapses in North America

1981

4 door Range Rover introduced

1982

The Land Rover Series III County station wagon becomes available, featuring a more refined interior.

1983

March: Land Rover 110 Announced at Geneva Motor Show

The Land Rover 110 with a new coil-spring suspension, five-speed gearbox, one-piece windscreen and power steering is launched.

4th quarter: 127" (also called 130) Crew Cab made available

1984

June: Land Rover 90 (92.9") launched

1985

Land Rover vehicles are being sold in 120 countries.

1987

16 March. NAS Range Rover launched in USA

26 October. Official opening of Range Rover of North America HQ in Maryland.

[BREAK]
1988

Land Rover is bestowed with its fourth Royal Warrant by HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, joining warrants from HM Queen Elizabeth II; HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother; and HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales. Land Rover is the only vehicle manufacturer to possess all four Royal Warrants.

British Areospace buys Rover Group from British Government for £150,000,000.

1989

Land Rover Canada established
Honda buys 20% stake in Rover

1st half. Production of Discoveries (3 door) starts

September. Discovery introduced at Frankfurt Auto Show, the first all-new Land Rover in 19 years 2.5L 200 TDi (diesel) introduced, exclusively on Discovery

1990

Land Rover model name changed to Defender 200 TDi fitted to Defenders

June. Land Rover sells its 23% share of Land Rover Santana

Autumn. 5 Door Discovery announced.

1991

5 Door Discovery introduced to Europe

1992

1st August. Range Rover of North America changes its name to Land Rover of North America

500 limited-production run of Defender 110's to the USA, 25 to Canada, fitted with a 3.9 litre V8 engine goes on sale.

High Capacity Pick-up announced

Autumn. 108" Range Rover introduced

1993

200 TDi fitted to Range Rovers

Range Rover County LWB (long wheelbase) with its revolutionary Electronic Air Suspension (EAS) system, is introduced.

4th Quarter: Defender 90s first sold in US ('94 models)

[BREAK]
1994

11 January. Last 2 door Range Rover built

31 January. Announcement of BMW buying the Rover Group ( which includes Land Rover) from British Areospace for £800,000,000

Discovery launched in Canada

March.

Launch of Discovery (5 door) in USA

200 TDi production ceases.

An all-new Range Rover is introduced at the Paris Motor Show. It is the first clean-sheet redesign of the legendary Range Rover in the vehicle's 25-year history. Range Rover County Classic is introduced to continue the original vehicle's time-honoured design.

1995

2.5L 300 TDi introduced

February. Last Range Rover Classic built.

March Range Rover 4.0 SE is introduced in U.S.

September Range Rover 4.6 HSE is introduced in the U.S.

The 4.0 litre Discovery and the two-door hardtop Defender 90 join the U.S. line-up.

December. Defender imports cease in the United States.

Land Rover's annual production tops 100,000 units for the first time.

1996

The first-ever automatic-transmission Defender 90 becomes available.

The Freelander, aka CB40, a new Land Rover model is revealed.

1997

One final year of Defender imports to the United States starts.

Land Rover launches Freelander, an all-new four-wheel-drive range, at the Frankfurt Motor Show. It is available in the U.K. late in the year in two- and four-door models. Freelander is the first production vehicle ever to offer Hill Descent Control (HDC), a system that helps to maintain optimum vehicle speed and driver control while the vehicle is descending steep, slippery slopes.

1998

In a feat billed as the "The World's Longest Test," two new Land Rover Discovery Series IIs set off from the Land Rover assembly site in Solihull, England, en route to the Paris for the 1998 Paris Motor Show. They take the long way: a trip around the world. Having completed a nearly 18,000-mile shakedown, Discovery Series II is launched with much fanfare on September 29 at the Paris Motor Show. The first complete re-engineering of Discovery, the all-new Discovery Series II features Land Rover's exclusive Hill Descent Control (HDC) and Active Cornering Enhancement (ACE), a first for volume-production sport-utility vehicles. ACE measures and actively minimizes the vehicle's body lean during cornering.

[BREAK]
1999

January Discovery Series II introduced to USA

Land Rover North America sets an all-time sales record, reaching 29,380 vehicles, a 37 percent increase over calendar year 1998.

2000

May. At a gathering on the grounds of the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust, Land Rover executives and more than a thousand faithful enthusiasts meet to celebrate Range Rover's 30th anniversary. Range Rover was launched at the Earl's Court Motor Show on June 17, 1970 and has been a critically acclaimed success ever since. As of June 2000, thirty years since the introduction, more than 425,000 Range Rovers have been produced. Land Rover produces 400, special-edition 30th Anniversary Range Rovers to mark the occasion.

June The Ford Motor Company purchases Land Rover Group Limited, a newly created company separate from Rover Group, from BMW AG for $2.7 billion (3 billion Euros.) The transaction is completed on June 30, 2000. Robert A. Dover is named Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Land Rover Group, Ltd.
 
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