The History of the Range Rover
The mighty Range Rover was certainly not designed to be the luxurious status symbol it is known for today. With fans such as the British royals and A-list celebrities favouring Range Rovers over all other vehicles, most enjoy its luxurious interior, comfortable ride, and famous cachet more than its 4x4 off-road capabilities.
Whilst sitting pretty, the Range Rover has the capability to go just about anywhere off road. It was originally designed in 1951 but was however parked in 1958 and remained an untouched design until 1966 when engineers set to work on a new model. The very first Range Rover prototype was built in 1967 and completed in 1969.
Unknown to many, the original Range Rover was only available as a two-door vehicle until 1981, and prior to this, 4-door models were only available with specialist firms.
Range Rovers were most certainly not designed as the luxury-type vehicle we know them for. Whilst it was considered an up-market choice, the early Range Rovers had very basic, utilitarian interiors with plastic vinyl seats and plastic dashboards that were designed as working vehicles that could easily be washed down with a hose inside and out. The luxurious features such as power steering, carpeted floors, air conditioning, fabric and leather seats, were fitted much later and are what we now expect from the vehicle we know and love today.
Land Rovers and Range Rovers exclusively relied on their trademark boxed-section vehicle frames. Both Land Rovers and Range Rovers in the past few years have taken on a unified body and frame structure and from 2010, Range Rover also introduced two-wheel drive variants, the Freelander and the Evoque - a huge change after having built 4x4 cars exclusively for 62 years.
The most recent Range Rover, known as The Velar, is considered the most beautifully designed vehicle on the planet, winning the World Car Design of the Year title back in 2018.
The Range Rover Velar brings even more modern glamour and elegance to the Range Rover family and offers a combination of design excellence and engineering integrity. The distinctive design of the Range Rover features luxurious cabin with Windsor leather upholstery, electrically adjustable heated and cooled seats, adaptive cruise control, rear-view camera, park and lane keeping assist, dual-zone climate control and leather-clad steering wheel. Its super-slim Laser-LED headlights, flush then deployable door handles and sleek Touch Pro Duo infotainment are designed for pure comfort. A far cry from the original 1951 design Range Rover it’s hard to believe that these vehicles came from the same beginnings.
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