Range Rover

Land Rover is celebrating 45 years of the Range Rover today. The iconic SUV is in its fourth generation today.

The first generation Range Rover was revealed in 1970. Called the Original Classic, it came in a 2 door body style and featured a lightweight aluminium V8 engine, full-time four-wheel drive and all-round disc brakes. In production for 25 years, it later got a 4 door version in 1981 and an automatic gearbox in 1982.

Range Rover

 

Range RoverThe Range Rover first got a diesel engine in 1986 and in 1989 it became the world’s first 4×4 to feature anti-lock brakes.Later on in 1992, it got Electronic Traction Control and automatic electronic air suspension.

The second generation Range Rover (code name P38a) was introduced in 1994 and it came with even more luxurious interior, greater on-road ability and off-road capability. It also featured height adjustable suspension. Engine options included a 2.5-litre diesel and 3.9 and 4.6-litre versions of the V8 petrol. Land Rover introduced the Linley special edition of the Range Rover in 1999. Only 10 examples of the £100,000 model were produced and all of them featured black paintwork with matching black leather upholstery, deep-pile carpets and piano black interior trim. It was one of the first luxury cars to feature satellite navigation and even included a television.

The third generation Range Rover (code name L322) came in 2001 and got a new engine line up. First came the 4.2 V8 Supercharged petrol engine in 2005, the TDV8 diesel engine in 2006, followed by all-new 5.0-litre V8 petrol engines three years later. Features wise It was the first vehicle to provide a ‘dual-view’ infotainment display, allowing the driver to keep tabs on the sat nav instructions while the passenger watched a DVD.

The fourth generation Range Rover (code name L405) which is currently on sale was launched in 2012 and is the world’s first all aluminium SUV.