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53
A brief commentary on Land Rover
I
N 1948 the first Land Rover rolled off the assembly line. Con-
ceptually based on the original American army jeep, the Land
Rover was better suited to English conditions; it had a small, fuel
economic engine and used existing Rover company parts.
After World War II, steel was in short supply but aluminium, no
longer needed for fighter aircraft, was freely available. That’s why
much of the original Land Rover body was built using aluminium.
Aside from saving weight, the aluminium didn’t rust, so it became
a permanent feature on many Land Rover models.
Even from the beginning, Land
Rovers were noted for offroad abil-
ity; they were, and remain, class-
leading. On the road, early Land
Rovers were unpleasant, with their
small, noisy engines and roly-poly
handling. It was many years before
the power of Land Rover’s standard engines matched the needs of
the owners, which is why many older Land Rovers have had DIY
engine upgrades.
With the onslaught of cheap, reliable Japanese four-wheel drives,
Land Rovers seemed as doomed as the rest of the British motor in-
dustry. However, the advent of the Range Rover and its offspring
– the Discovery, saved the marque.
