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Land Rover's most historically significant vehicle - the 40 year old Range Rover stands the test of time. Photo Gallery
Long before there were SUVs, the first of the breed was born in Britain.
The original Range Rover was designed to be a combination of a luxury sedan and a serious off-roader, a crossover concept that has been a worldwide boomer since the early 1990s. Americans flocked to the first of their homegrown SUVs, with Japanese and then European and Korean brands cashing-in on a gold rush that also spread to Australia. But the Range Rover was first, way back in 1970.
"Nobody was doing it at the time. It seemed worth a try and Land Rover needed a new product," says Sven King, father of the Range Rover. "The idea was to combine the comfort and on-road ability of a Rover saloon with the off-road ability of a Land Rover."
It seems a simple formula today and it has worked brilliantly for a vehicle which is one of many celebrating landmark years in 2010 - this time a 40th birthday - but it was a move into uncharted territory when development began in 1966. At that time the Rangie - as it is known around the world - was a project called the 100-inch station wagon. It eventually went on sale on June 17, 1970 as a two-door wagon with a rear hatch, spawning two further generations and a series of upgrades and model switches leading to the Range Rover Sport in 2007.
Land Rover is almost promising a third model line - the production version of its LRX concept - at the Paris Motor Show in October.
"The Range Rover probably remains the most historically significant vehicle we have ever launched. It is one of the most important vehicles in the history of motoring," says Land Rover's Phil Popham.
The Rangie is a brilliant choice for winter white work but it has not always had a great history in Australia. The original Range Rover was assembled for a time in Sydney but there were many quality glitches and the 3.5-litre V8 engine was not enough for some owners, which explains the number of cars now fitted with Chevrolet V8s.
But it was a hit with off-road enthusiasts and the Range Rover Club of Australia was formed in Melbourne in 1977, the same year that motoring journalist and author Evan Green won the 4x4 class in the London-to- Sydney Marathon in a Range Rover. There were few major changes to the original Range Rover - although a four-door was added in 1981 and the first automatic came in 1982 - but things have altered a lot more recently as Land Rover has had a string of owners. It was first sold to BMW, then Ford, and is now part of the Tata Motors group from India.
The second-generation Range Rover - codenamed Pegasus inside the company but generally known as P38a - came in 1994, just as the company came into the BMW Group. The real sea-change happened in 2001, when BMW used a collaboration with its 7 Series flagship to produce a vehicle which re-set the benchmark for the Range Rover in everything from V8 engines to cabin quality. Of course, it was also linked to BMW's own X5.
Ford's ownership brought more emphasis on quality, new engines and a commitment to the vehicle's future - as well as Australia's Geoff Polites in the top job - as Range Rover continued to sell strongly at the top end of the worldwide SUV business. Polites led the fundraising work which led to the 2010 update of the Range Rover, which has given it renewed success despite growing opposition from everything from the X5 to Porsche's Cayenne.
Throughout its 40 years, the Range Rover has done so well because it is equally good both on and off the road, winning sales from princes and politicians, rock and movie stars, footballers and farmers.
"The Range Rover is really four vehicles in one," says Popham. "It's a seven-days-a-week luxury motor car; a leisure vehicle that will range far and wide on the highways and no-ways of the world; a high performance car for long distance travel; and a working cross-country vehicle."
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