The Land Rover series I, II, and III (commonly referred to as ''series'' Land Rovers, to distinguish them from later models) are compact British
off-road vehicle
An off-road vehicle, sometimes referred to as an overland or adventure vehicle, is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with de ...
s, produced by the
Rover Company since 1948, and later by
British Leyland
British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It was partl ...
. Though inspired by the
World War II jeep, the Land Rover immediately distinguished itself from all other cars. From launch, it was the first mass-produced civilian
four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...
car with doors on it, and an available hard roof. Contrary to conventional car and truck chassis, it used a sturdier fully box-welded frame. Furthermore, due to post-war steel shortage, and aluminium surplus, Land Rovers received non-rusting aluminium alloy bodies, favouring their longevity. In 1992, Land Rover claimed that 70% of all the vehicles they had built were still in use.
Most series models feature
leaf-spring
A leaf spring is a simple form of spring commonly used for the suspension in wheeled vehicles. Originally called a ''laminated'' or ''carriage spring'', and sometimes referred to as a semi-elliptical spring, elliptical spring, or cart spring, i ...
suspension with selectable
two
2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...
or
four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...
(4WD), however series I's produced between 1948 and mid-1951 had constant 4WD via a freewheel mechanism, and the Stage 1 V8 version of the series III featured permanent 4WD. All three models could be started with a front hand crank and had the option of front & rear power takeoffs for accessories.
After adding a long wheelbase model in 1954, Land Rover also offered the world's first four / five door, 4WD off-road station wagon in 1956. Series Land Rovers and
Defenders
Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to:
*Defense (military)
*Defense (sports)
**Defender (association football)
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary
* ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...
continually excelled in space utilization, offering (optional) three abreast seating in the seating rows with doors, and troop seating in the rear, resulting in up to seven seats in the SWB, and up to ten seats in the LWB models, exceeding the capacity of most
minivan
Minivan (sometimes called simply as van) is a North American car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows. The equivalent classification in Europe is ...
s, when comparing vehicles of the same length.
Development
The Land Rover was conceived by the
Rover Company in 1947 during the aftermath of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Before the war Rover had produced luxury cars which were not in demand in the immediate post-war period and raw materials were strictly rationed to those companies building construction or industrial equipment, or products that could be widely exported to earn crucial
foreign exchange
The foreign exchange market (Forex, FX, or currency market) is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. This market determines foreign exchange rates for every currency. It includes all as ...
for the country. Also, Rover's original factory in
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
had been bombed during the war, forcing the company to move into a huge "
shadow factory
A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two- dimensional silhouette, ...
" built just before the war in
Solihull
Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blyth ...
near
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, previously used to construct
Bristol Hercules aircraft engines. This factory was now empty but starting car production there from scratch would not be financially viable. Plans for a small, economical car known as the M Type were drawn up, and a few prototypes made, but would be too expensive to produce.
Maurice Wilks
Maurice Fernand Cary Wilks (19 August 19048 September 1963) was a British automotive and aeronautical engineer, and by the time of his death in 1963, was the chairman of the Rover Company, a British car manufacturer. He was the founder of the ...
, Rover's chief designer came up with a plan to produce a light agricultural and
utility vehicle
A utility vehicle is a vehicle, generally motorized, that is designed to carry out a specific task with more efficacy than a passenger vehicle. It sometimes refers to a small truck with low sides.
Types of utility vehicles
Military light u ...
, of a similar concept to the
Willys Jeep
The Willys MB and the Ford GPW, both formally called the U.S. Army Truck, -ton, 4×4, Command Reconnaissance, commonly known as the Willys Jeep, Jeep, or jeep, and sometimes referred to by its supply catalogue designation G503,According to i ...
used in the war, but with an emphasis on agricultural use. He was possibly inspired by the
Standard Motor Company
The Standard Motor Company Limited was a motor vehicle manufacturer, founded in Coventry, England, in 1903 by Reginald Walter Maudslay. For many years, it manufactured Ferguson TE20 tractors powered by its Vanguard engine. All Standard's tracto ...
, who faced similar problems and were producing the highly successful
Ferguson TE20
The Ferguson TE20 is an agricultural tractor designed by Harry Ferguson. By far his most successful design, it was manufactured from 1946 until 1956, and was commonly known as the ''Little Grey Fergie''. It marked a major advance in tractor de ...
tractor
A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commo ...
in their shadow factory in Coventry. More likely, he used his own experience of using an army-surplus Jeep on his farm in
Anglesey
Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
, North Wales. His design added a
power take-off (PTO) feature since there was a gap in the market between jeeps and tractors (which offered the feature but were less flexible as transport). The original Land Rover concept (a cross between a light truck and a tractor) is similar to the
Unimog
The Unimog (, ) is a range of multi-purpose tractors, trucks and lorries that has been produced by Boehringer from 1948 until 1951, and by Daimler Truck (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler AG) since 1951. In the United States and ...
, which was developed in Germany during this period.
The first prototype had a distinctive feature — the steering wheel was mounted in the middle of the vehicle. It hence became known as the "
centre steer
The Centre Steer is the name given by enthusiasts to the prototype of the Land Rover 4x4 automobile. Being a prototype, only one example was built and the production vehicle differed significantly in many ways. Developed in late 1947 by the Ro ...
". It was built on a Jeep chassis and used the engine and gearbox out of a
Rover P3
The Rover Sixty and Rover Seventy-Five or Rover P3 series were 1.6 and 2.0-litre executive cars announced in the middle of February 1948 and produced by the Rover Company until the summer of 1949. Two months after the announcement of the new car ...
saloon car. The bodywork was handmade out of an aluminium/magnesium alloy called ''
Birmabright
Birmabright is a trade name of the former Birmetals Co. (Birmabright works in Clapgate Lane, Quinton, Birmingham, UK) for various types of lightweight sheet metal in an alloy of aluminium and magnesium. The alloy was introduced by the Birmid Grou ...
'', to save on steel, which was closely rationed. The choice of colour was dictated by
military surplus
Military surplus are goods, usually matériel, that are sold or otherwise disposed of when held in excess or are no longer needed by the military. Entrepreneurs often buy these goods and resell them at surplus stores. Usually the goods sold by t ...
supplies of aircraft cockpit paint, so early vehicles only came in various shades of light green. The first pre-production Land Rovers were being developed in late 1947 by a team led by engineer
Arthur Goddard.
![1948 Land Rover pre production (5956734739)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/1948_Land_Rover_pre_production_%285956734739%29.jpg)
Tests showed this prototype vehicle to be a capable and versatile machine. The
PTO drives from the front of the engine and from the gearbox to the centre and rear of the vehicle allowed it to drive farm machinery, exactly as a tractor would. It was also tested
ploughing
A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...
and performing other agricultural tasks. However, as the vehicle was readied for production, this emphasis on tractor-like usage decreased and the centre steering proved impractical in use. The steering wheel was mounted off to the side as normal, the bodywork was simplified to reduce production time and costs and a larger engine was fitted, together with a specially designed transfer gearbox to replace the Jeep unit. The result was a vehicle that didn't use a single Jeep component and was slightly shorter than its American inspiration, but wider, heavier, faster and still retained the
PTO drives.
The Land Rover was designed to only be in production for two or three years to gain some cash flow and export orders for the Rover Company so it could restart up-market car production. Once car production restarted, however, it was greatly outsold by the off-road Land Rover, which developed into its own brand that remains successful today. Many of the defining and successful features of the Land Rover design were in fact the result of Rover's drive to simplify the tooling required for the vehicle and to use the minimum amount of rationed materials. As well as the aluminium alloy bodywork (which has been retained throughout production despite it now being more expensive than a conventional steel body due to its ideal properties of light weight and corrosion resistance) other examples include the distinctive flat body panels with only simple, constant-radius curves (originally used because they could be cut and formed by hand from aluminium sheet on a basic jig) and the sturdy box-section ladder
chassis
A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...
, which on series vehicles was made up from four strips of steel
welded
Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing fusion. Welding is distinct from lower temperature techniques such as braz ...
at each side to form a box, thus cutting down on the complex operations required when making a more conventional U- or I-section frame.
Series I
Land Rover entered production in 1948 with what has later been termed the Series I. This was launched at the
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
Motor Show. It was designed for farm and light industrial use, with a steel box-section
chassis
A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...
and an aluminium body.
Originally the Land Rover was a single model offering, which from 1948 until 1951 used an
wheelbase
In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...
and a 1.6-litre
petrol engine
A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ' ...
producing around . The four-speed gearbox from the
Rover P3
The Rover Sixty and Rover Seventy-Five or Rover P3 series were 1.6 and 2.0-litre executive cars announced in the middle of February 1948 and produced by the Rover Company until the summer of 1949. Two months after the announcement of the new car ...
was used, with a new two-speed transfer box. This incorporated an unusual four-wheel-drive system, with a
freewheel
Freewheel mechanism
In mechanical or automotive engineering, a freewheel or overrunning clutch is a device in a transmission that disengages the driveshaft from the driven shaft when the driven shaft rotates faster than the driveshaft. An ...
unit (as used on several Rover cars of the time). This disengaged the front axle from the
manual transmission
A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission (mechanics), transmission ...
on the overrun, allowing a form of non-
permanent 4WD. A ring-pull mechanism in the driver's footwell allowed the freewheel to be locked to provide more traditional 4WD. This was a basic vehicle: tops for the doors and a roof (canvas or metal) were optional extras. In 1950, the lights moved from a position behind the
grille
Grill or grille may refer to:
Food
* Barbecue grill, a device or surface used for cooking food, usually fuelled by gas or charcoal, or the part of a cooker that performs this function
* Flattop grill, a cooking device often used in restaurants, ...
to protruding through the grille.
![1948 Land Rover 80 Tickford Estate Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/1948_Land_Rover_80_Tickford_Estate_Heritage_Motor_Centre%2C_Gaydon.jpg)
From the beginning it was realised that some buyers would want a Land Rover's abilities without the spartan interiors. In 1949, Land Rover launched a second body option called the "
Station Wagon
A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...
", fitted with a body built by
Tickford
Tickford is an automobile engineering and testing business in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, known for tuning and such products as the 140 mph Tickford Turbo Capri.
Under the name Salmons & Sons and their Tickford products the firm has ...
, a coachbuilder known for their work with
Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
and
Lagonda
Lagonda is a British luxury car brand established in 1906, which has been owned by Aston Martin since 1947. The trade-name has not had a continuous commercial existence, being dormant several times, most recently from 1995 to 2008 and 2010 to 2 ...
. The bodywork was wooden-framed and had seating for seven people. Tickford was well equipped in comparison with the standard Land Rover, having leather seats, a heater, a one-piece laminated windscreen, a tin-plate spare wheel cover, some interior trim and other options. The wooden construction made them expensive to build. The Tickford was taxed as a private car, which attracted high levels of
Purchase Tax unlike the original Land Rover. As a result, fewer than 700 Tickfords were sold, and all but 50 were exported.
In 1952 and 1953, a larger 2.0-litre petrol engine was fitted. This engine has Siamese bores, meaning that there are no water passages for cooling between the cylinders. During 1950, the unusual semi-permanent 4WD system was replaced with a more conventional setup, with drive to the front axle being taken through a simple dog clutch. Around this time the Land Rover's legal status was also clarified. As mentioned above, the Land Rover was originally classed as a commercial vehicle, meaning it was free from purchase tax. However, this also meant it was limited to a speed of on British roads. After an appeal to the
Law Lords
Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...
after an owner was charged with exceeding this limit, the Land Rover was classified as a "multi-purpose vehicle" which was only to be classed as a commercial vehicle if used for commercial purposes.
Series I 86 inch Hard Top. Showing double-skinned '"Safari Roof"
The 1954 model year brought major changes. The wheelbase model was replaced by an wheelbase model, and a wheelbase "
pick up" version was introduced. The extra wheelbase was added behind the cab area to provide additional load space.
In mid-1954 the "spread bore" petrol engine was introduced (from engines 5710xxxx), allowing better cooling between the cylinders. This had been introduced in the Rover car the year before. The engine was modified again in 1955 (from engine 1706xxxxx), sometimes known as the 'later' spread bore.
September 1955 saw the introduction of the first five-door model, on the 107-inch chassis known as the "
station wagon
A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...
" with seating for up to ten people. The 86-inch station wagon was a three-door, seven-seater. The new station wagons were very different from the previous Tickford model, being built with simple metal panels and bolt-together construction instead of the complex wooden structure of the older Station Wagon. They were intended to be used both as commercial vehicles as people-carriers for transporting workmen to remote locations, as well as by private users. Like the Tickford version, they came with basic interior trim and equipment such as roof vents and interior lights.
The Station Wagons saw the first expansion of the Land Rover range. Station Wagons were fitted with a "Tropical Roof" which consisted of a second roof skin fitted on top of the vehicle. This kept the interior cool in hot weather and reduced condensation in cold weather. Vents fitted in the roof allowed added ventilation to the interior. While they were based on the same chassis and
drivetrains as the standard vehicles, Station Wagons carried different chassis numbers, special badging, and were advertised in separate brochures. Unlike the original Station Wagon, the new in-house versions were highly popular.
![1948 Land Rover Series I (001)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/1948_Land_Rover_Series_I_%28001%29.jpg)
In mid-1956 the wheelbases were extended by to and , and the front chassis cross-member was moved an inch forward, to accommodate the new diesel engine, to be an option the following year. This change was made to all models with the exception of the 107 Station Wagon, which would never be fitted with a diesel engine, and would eventually be the last series I in production. These dimensions were to be used on all Land Rovers for the next 25 years.
In 1957 a brand new 2.0-litre
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
was introduced that, despite the similar capacity, was not related to the petrol engines used. The petrol engines of the time used the rather out-dated inlet-over-exhaust
valve
A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...
arrangement; the diesel used the more modern overhead valve layout. This diesel engine was one of the first high-speed diesels developed for road use, producing at 4,000 rpm.
Series II
The successor to the successful series I was the series II, which saw a production run from 1958 to 1961. It came in and wheelbases (normally referred to as the 'SWB' and 'LWB'). This was the first Land Rover to receive the attention of Rover's styling department. Chief Stylist
David Bache
David Ernest Bache (14 June 1925 – 26 November 1994) was a British automobile designer. For much of his career he worked with Rover.
Early life
Bache was born in Mannheim, Germany, the son of Aston Villa and England footballer Joe Bache who ...
produced the familiar 'barrel side' waistline, with a greater width to cover the vehicle's wider tracks, as well as the improved design of the truck cab variant, introducing the curved side windows and rounded roof still used on current Land Rovers. The series II was the first vehicle to use the well-known 2.25-litre
petrol engine
A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ' ...
, although the first 1,500 or so short wheelbase (SWB) models retained the 2.0-litre petrol engine from the series I. This larger petrol engine produced and was closely related to the 2.0-litre diesel unit still in use. This engine became the standard Land Rover unit until the mid-1980s when diesel engines became more popular.
The series II
station wagon
A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...
introduced a twelve-seater option on top of the standard ten-seater layout. This was primarily to take advantage of UK tax laws, by which a vehicle with 12 seats or more was classed as a
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
, and was exempt from Purchase Tax and Special Vehicle Tax. This made the twelve-seater not only cheaper to buy than the 10-seater version, but also cheaper than the seven-seater Station Wagon. The twelve-seater layout remained a highly popular body style for decades, being retained on the later series and
Defender variants until 2002, when it was dropped. The unusual status of the twelve-seater remained until the end—such vehicles were classed as
minibuses
A minibus, microbus, minicoach, or commuter (in Zimbabwe) is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, t ...
and thus could use
bus lanes and (if registered correctly) could be exempt from the
London Congestion Charge.
There was some degree of overlap between series I and II production. Early series-II vehicles were fitted with the old 2-litre petrol engine to use up existing stock from production of the series I. The Station Wagon continued until late 1959 due to continued demand from export markets and to allow the production of series-II components to reach full level.
File:Land Rover SII Cuthbertson + Forest Rover.jpg, Series-II 'Forest Rover' (left) and 'Cuthbertson' (with tracks)
File:1961-1966 Land Rover 109 SII Forest Rover (right side).jpg, 1961-1966 Land Rover 109 SII 'Forest Rover' with tractor-size wheels
File:1959 Land Rover Series II Model 109 004 (cropped).jpg, 1959 series-II 109" station wagon showed more sophisticated styling
Series IIA
The SII and the SIIA are very difficult to distinguish. There were some minor cosmetic changes. Body configurations available from the factory ranged from short-wheelbase soft-top to the top-of-the-line five-door station wagon. A 2.25-litre diesel was added to the engine line, which after 1967 included a 2.6-litre inline six cylinder petrol engine for the long-wheelbase models, which also had servo-assisted brakes. 811 of these were NADA (or North American Dollar Area) trucks, which were the only long-wheelbase models made for the American and Canadian markets.
From February 1969 (home market), the headlamps moved into the wings on all models, and the sill panels were redesigned to be shallower a few months afterwards.
The series IIA is considered by many the most hardy series model constructed. It is quite possibly also the type of classic Land Rover that features strongly in the general public's perception of the Land Rover, from its many appearances in popular films and television documentaries set in Africa throughout the 1960s, such as ''
Born Free
''Born Free'' is a 1966 British drama film starring the real-life couple Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, another real-life couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her in ...
''. In February 1968, just a few months after the
Rover Company had been subsumed, under government pressure, into the
Leyland Motor Corporation
Leyland Motors Limited (later known as the Leyland Motor Corporation) was a British vehicle manufacturer of lorries, buses and trolleybuses. The company diversified into car manufacturing with its acquisitions of Triumph and Rover in 1960 and 1 ...
, the Land Rover celebrated its twentieth birthday, with total production to date just short of 600,000, of which more than 70% had been exported.
Certainly it was whilst the series IIA was in production that sales of utility Land Rovers reached their peak, in 1969–70, when sales of over 60,000 Land Rovers a year were recorded. (For comparison, the sales of the Defender have been around the 25,000 level since the 1990s.) As well as record sales, the Land Rover dominated many world markets- in Australia in the 1960s Land Rover held 90% of the 4×4 market. This figure was repeated in many countries in Africa and the Middle East.
A rail-road version was developed in partnership with
Dunlop.
File:1963.landrover.s2a.arp.jpg, 1963 Land Rover
Series IIA pickup-type
File:LandRoverIIALWB.jpg, Land Rover series-IIa station wagon coil-sprung hybrid
File:1963 Land Rover Series 2A 109in WB ambulance - United Nations (5637208384).jpg, 1963 series-IIA ambulance, United Nations
File:Land Rover Series IIA (1965) - 28607076444.jpg, 1965 series-IIA ambulance, sand
File:Land Rover (1392444602).jpg, On late model SIIA's the headlights were moved to the wings / fenders
Series IIA forward control
![1963 Land Rover 112 Recovery Wagon Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/1963_Land_Rover_112_Recovery_Wagon_Heritage_Motor_Centre%2C_Gaydon.jpg)
The series IIA FC launched in 1962 was based on the series IIA 2.25-litre petrol engine and chassis, with the cab positioned over the engine to give more load space. Export vehicles were the first Land-Rovers to get the 2.6-litre petrol engine. Most examples had an
ENV (heavy duty) rear axle, a matching front axle came later. Tyres were large 900×16 types on deep-dish wheel rims to spread the ground weight of this heavy vehicle. These vehicles were somewhat underpowered for the increased load capacity (), and most had a hard working life. Less than 2,500 were made, and most had a utility body, but surviving examples often have custom bodywork. With an upgraded powertrain, they can be used as a small motorhome. The vehicle was not the first COE vehicle produced by the plant, since they had also produced the
Leyland 15/20 which was based on the
Standard Atlas
The Standard Atlas is a light van which was produced and sold under various names between 1958 and 1980, initially in Britain and Europe, and subsequently in India.
Standard Atlas, Standard Atlas Major and Standard 15/20 (1958–1968)
In 1958 ...
.
File:Land Rover 109 IIA Forward Control Fire Engine pic1.JPG, Land Rover series IIA forward control fire engine
Series IIB forward control
![Land Rover Series IIB FC side](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Land_Rover_Series_IIB_FC_side.jpg)
The series IIB FC produced from 1966 was similar to the series IIA FC but added the 2.25-litre diesel engine as an option. The 2.25-litre engine was the standard engine for this model, the 2.6-litre engine being only available for export.
Heavy duty wide-track axles (designed by ENV) were fitted to improve vehicle stability, as was a front anti-roll bar and revised rear springs which were mounted above the axle rather than below it. In the process the wheelbase was increased to . Production ended in 1974 when Land-Rover rationalised its vehicle range. Many IIB components were also used on the "1 Ton" 109 in vehicle.
Series III
The series III had the same body and engine options as the preceding IIa, including station wagons and the One-Ton versions. Little changed cosmetically from the IIA to the series III. The series III is the most common series vehicle, with 440,000 of the type built from 1971 to 1985. The
headlight
A headlamp is a lamp (electrical component), lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage (language), usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the ...
s were moved to the wings on late production IIA models from 1968/9 onward (ostensibly to comply with Australian, American and Dutch lighting regulations) and remained in this position for the series III. The traditional metal grille, featured on the series I, II and IIA, was replaced with a plastic one for the series-III model. The 2.25-litre engine had its compression raised from 7:1 to 8:1, increasing the power slightly (the high compression engine had been an optional fit on the IIa model for several years). During the series-III production run from 1971 until 1985, the 1,000,000th Land Rover rolled off the production line in 1976.
![Land Rover - Flickr - dave 7](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Land_Rover_-_Flickr_-_dave_7.jpg)
The series III saw many changes in the later part of its life as Land Rover updated the design to meet increased competition. This was the first model to feature
synchromesh on all four gears, although some late H-suffix SIIA models (mainly the more expensive Station Wagons) had used the all-synchro box. In keeping with early 1970s trends in automotive interior design, both in safety and use of more advanced materials, the simple metal dashboard of earlier models was redesigned to accept a new moulded plastic dash. The instrument cluster, which was previously centrally located, was moved to the driver's side. Long-wheelbase series-III vehicles had the Salisbury rear axle (the differential housing and axle case are one piece) as standard, although some late SIIA vehicles had them too.
North American sales from the factory ceased in 1974.
In 1980, the 2.25-litre petrol and diesel engines received five main bearing crankshafts to increase rigidity and the
transmission, and
axles and wheel hubs were strengthened. This was the culmination of a series of updates to the transmission that had been made since the 1960s to combat the all-too-common problem of the rear axle half-shafts breaking in heavy usage. This problem was partly due to the design of the shafts themselves. Due to the fully floating design of the rear wheel hubs, the half shafts can be removed very quickly without even having to jack the vehicle off the ground. The tendency for commercial operators to overload their vehicles exacerbated this flaw which blighted the series Land Rovers in many of their export markets and established a reputation that continues in many markets to the present day. This is despite the 1982 re-design (mainly the increase of driving-
splines from 10 to 24 to reduce stress) that all but solved the problem.
Also, new trim options were introduced to make the interior more comfortable if the buyer so wished (many farmers and commercial users preferred the original, non-trimmed interior).
These changes culminated in April 1982 with the introduction of the "County" spec. Station Wagon Land Rovers, available in both and types. These had all-new cloth seats from the
Leyland T-45 Lorry, soundproofing kits, tinted glass and other "soft" options designed to appeal to the leisure owner/user.
Of more interest was the introduction of the High Capacity Pick Up to the chassis. This was a pick-up truck load bay that offered 25% more cubic capacity than the standard pick-up style. The HCPU came with heavy-duty suspension and was popular with public utility companies and building contractors.
Stage One V8
The first Prototype V8 Land Rover was the creation of Bruce McWilliams, then president of the Rover Motor Company of North America Limited. McWilliams thought that the newly acquired all alloy V8 from GM would be perfect for the Land Rover. Early in 1966 the project was given to then Service Manager and newly appointed Product Development Engineer, Richard F Green of Rover Motor Company of North America, Ltd., based in South San Francisco. Green’s past included years in Grand Prix and sports-car racing with teams like Aston Martin and MG/BMC. Green came to America in February 1956 after the Monte Carlo Rally, sponsored by Ken Miles. The project was named "BOP" (Buick-Olds-Pontiac). McWilliams listed specifications he wanted in addition to the V8 such as Primrose Yellow paint, black upholstery, side pipes from a Corvette, a Hurst shifter, making a hot rod in the California sense of the word. Green had other ideas. A new 1966 88" Station Wagon was collected at the SF Docks and taken to British Sports Car Service in
Hayward, California
Hayward () is a city located in Alameda County, California in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area and the third largest in Alameda Coun ...
for teardown. Green designed and drew a blueprint for the engine adapter plate (the same one the factory would go on to use for three other V8s they would build). In addition to the increased horsepower, Green would upgrade the 10" SLS drum brakes to 11"x3" DLS from the new NADA 109" they would soon be testing; increase fuel capacity; relocate and fit adjustable driver’s seat; and, with the help of Moeller Bros Body Shop, modify the rear bulkhead and then paint the car Golden Rod Yellow, which would then become the new project name: "Golden Rod". They drove the completed the Golden Rod to New York City for McWilliams to see, from where it was shipped to Southampton, where Green would later collect it and drive it to Solihull.
From 1979 until 1985, the Stage 1 was built using some of the same components as the Range Rover and 101 Forward Control, such as the LT95 gearbox and 3.5-litre
Rover V8
The Rover V8 engine is a compact V8 internal combustion engine with aluminium cylinder block and cylinder heads, originally designed by General Motors and later re-designed and produced by Rover in the United Kingdom. It has been used in a wide ...
petrol engine. The engine was detuned to from the 135BHP of the contemporary Range Rover. The vehicle came about because the competing Toyota Land Cruiser and Nissan Patrol vehicles, fitted with powerful and durable 6-cylinder engines, were making considerable inroads into the market, particularly in Australia and Africa. A V8-powered Land Rover with the Range Rover's constant 4WD system was a considerable technological advancement on the part-time 4WD and 4-cyl engines of previous variants, though the Stage 1 still used the Series III's leaf springs.
The Stage 1 was normally available only in LWB form but 24 examples were built with the SWB wheelbase.
"Stage 1" refers to the first stage of investment by the British Government in the company to improve the Land Rover and Range Rover product offerings to counter the aforementioned market challenges, and were a transitional development on the way to the coil-sprung Land Rover 90 and 110. The use of the Range Rover engine and drive train made it the only Series III vehicle to have permanent four-wheel drive.
![StageOneV8](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/StageOneV8.jpg)
Most of the V8 Stage 1 vehicles were exported, as the larger engine was not really sought-after by UK owners, for whom the 4-cyl 2286cc engine seemed to be sufficient and somewhat more economical. A small number may have been used by the British armed forces. However, the New Zealand Army bought 566 Stage 1 V8 Land Rovers which entered service over the period 1982 - 1986. The New Zealand Army standardised on the type, retiring the previous mixture of British- and Australian-built 88" and 109" Series 2 variants. All the V8 vehicles were 109" configuration and were supplied with a plastic-coated canvas canopy with bodywork in Deep Bronze Green. All had 24v electrics with Fitted For Radio (FFR) vehicles having a larger 100 amp generator supplied by Milspec Manufacturing Pty Ltd of Australia. Variants included a hard-top fitted vehicle used for specialist signals tasks (some of which had dual rear wheels for lateral stability to counteract the weight of additional equipment carried). There was also a white-painted 300 TDI conversion of approximately 20 vehicles, including a hard top and locally-devised disc brake conversion, for peacekeeping service with New Zealand's UNPROFOR contingent in Bosnia-Herzegovina from 1994 to 1996. The retirement of New Zealand V8 Stage 1 vehicles started from 2000, with the last examples taken out of service in 2006 once sufficient numbers of the Pinzgauer replacement vehicle became available. The vehicles were sold off in a series of disposal auctions, and many are now cherished by private owners in New Zealand.
One-ton 109 inch
The 1 Ton 109 inch was produced from 1968 to 1977, covering late IIA and series III Models. It was basically a series-IIB forward control built with a standard 109 in body, featuring 2.6-litre petrol engine, lower ratio gearbox, ENV front and rear axles, (Salisbury front and rear on later series IIIs) though some late IIAs were fitted with ENV axles in front and Salisbury on the rear. Later series IIIs had a Rover type front axle with uprated differential. The chassis frame was unique to the model and featured drop-shackle suspension similar to the military series Land Rovers. 900x16 tyres were a standard feature and these machines were commonly used by utility companies and breakdown/recovery firms. Only 170 IIA and 238 series IIIs (1 Ton) were built for the home market. Export markets had even fewer examples, making this one of the rarest types of Land-Rover ever built.
Australia
![Land Rover (1392094807)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Land_Rover_%281392094807%29.jpg)
Australia has always been an important export market for Land Rovers of various models, but especially the utility models. 80-inch series-I models were sold to the Australian government in the late 1940s for work on civil engineering projects such as dams and road construction, which brought the vehicle to the buying public's attention. Large sales followed and in the 1950s Land Rover established factories in Australia to build
CKD kits shipped from the Solihull factory. The Land Rover continued to sell well throughout the 1960s in series II guise, commanding some 90% of the off-road market, and with practically every farm having at least one Land Rover.
![Land_Rover_109_Pick-Up_1980](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Land_Rover_109_Pick-Up_1980.jpg)
The series III continued this success in the early 1970s, but from the middle of the decade sales declined. A large coal export deal to Japan relied on the subsequent import of Japanese cars and other goods, a combination of this increasing competition and increasingly poor quality of the components being shipped from Britain meant that Land Rover's dominance slipped.
In an attempt to address declining sales in the rural and civil engineering markets in the mid 1970s, Leyland Australia developed the Land Rover GAME, an up-market, short-wheelbase Series III aimed at the emerging recreational 4WD market. Fitted with fifteen inch white spoke wheels and wide tyres, wheel arch extensions, deluxe bonnet, rear bumperettes, rear swing away spare wheel carrier, interior trim, and a radio cassette player, the GAME was available in a single colour scheme of 'Yellow Devil' body, white roof, black front panels and silver windscreen vent panel. Optional extras included a Fairey overdrive, safari roof, and free-wheeling hubs. Sales were limited and the model was discontinued in 1979.
A problem specific to Australia was the always-limited supply of new Land Rovers. Leyland's factory never had the capacity to meet possible demand and the need to import almost the entire vehicle in kit form from Britain restricted the supply and manufacturing process further. This led to a long waiting list developing for the Leyland product whilst commercial operators could receive large fleets of Japanese vehicles very quickly. The other problems faced by Land Rover were the same throughout its export markets- compared to the Japanese competition, the Land Rover was underpowered, unreliable and slow with a poor ride quality, despite their arguably superior off-road ability. Poor rust-proofing and low-quality
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
used in comparison to the Japanese vehicles turned the buyers away in large numbers and by 1983, with the introduction of the One Ten, the
Toyota Land Cruiser
The (also sometimes spelled as LandCruiser) is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. It is Toyota's longest running series of models. , the sales of the Land Cruiser totalled more than ...
became the best-selling 4×4 in Australia.
In the early 1980s, Land Rover Australia had made some changes to the vehicle to try to combat this sales decline. As well as the fitting of the V8 petrol engine in the 1979 "Stage One", as in the rest of the world, Australia also received the same vehicle with the option of a 3.9-litre four-cylinder
Isuzu diesel engine (
4BD1).
This was introduced in 1982, and was meant to be equipped in about ten percent of the Australian production. Top speed is .
This helped slow the sales decline, but the rest of the vehicle's shortcomings let it down. The One Ten was also available with this engine, and a turbocharged version producing in excess of powered the military 6×6.
South Africa
South Africa's relationship with Land Rover started in 1949 when the first series-I 80-inch models were sold in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. In August 1950, Car Distributors Assembly (Pty) Ltd assembled the first Land Rover CKD in
Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The first local production of fuel tanks and chassis at the Port Elizabeth plant was announced in August 1963 and from then on the local content in the production of Land Rovers increased steadily to 44% of vehicle weight by 1972. Local content included: chassis, road springs, entire body, tyres, seat frames and upholstery, battery, fibreglass roof and all glass. In 1974 Leyland SA had three assembly plants. Local content increased further in 1980 with the series-IIIS models fitted with locally produced petrol(R6) and diesel(ADE 236) engines. In 1992, the Blackheath factory in the Cape Province was identified as the largest Land Rover CKD assembly outside the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
.
Military
United Kingdom
![Land Rover, licence registration 'A377MDD'](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Land_Rover%2C_licence_registration_%27A377MDD%27.JPG)
The
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
used series Land Rovers in large numbers (and continues to use the modern
Defender versions). The British Army tested the series-I Land Rover almost as soon as it was launched in 1948. At that time, the Army was more interested in developing a specially designed military utility 4×4 (the
Austin Champ
The Austin Champ was a military and civilian jeep-like vehicle made by the Austin Motor Company in the 1950s. The army version was officially known as "Truck, 1/4 ton, CT, 4×4, Cargo & FFW, Austin Mk.1" however the civilian name "Champ" was un ...
). However, the Champ proved too complex, heavy and unreliable in battlefield conditions so the Army looked to the Land Rover. In the late 1940s the
Ministry of Defence was keen on the standardisation of its vehicles and equipment. Part of this plan was to fit
Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
petrol engines to all its vehicles (even though most were not actually built by R-R). A batch of series-I Land Rovers were fitted with Rolls-Royce B40 four-cylinder engine, which required modification to an wheelbase). However, the engine was too heavy and slow-revving, which stunted performance and produced torque that the Rover gearbox could only just cope with. Rover convinced the MOD that, considering the quantities of Land Rovers they were considering ordering, that the standard 1.6-litre engine would suffice. The MOD started ordering Land Rovers in batches from late 1949. The initial batches were for 50 vehicles, but by the mid-1950s the Army was buying Land Rovers 200 vehicles at a time.
![Land Rover series IIa 'Pink Panther' SAS desert car 1968](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Land_Rover_series_IIa_%27Pink_Panther%27_SAS_desert_car_1968.jpg)
Land Rovers were deployed to the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
and the
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...
, and became standard light military vehicles throughout the Commonwealth.
![Land Rover 109 S111 Ambulance](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Land_Rover_109_S111_Ambulance.JPG)
However, as the 1960s progressed, more and more specialised versions were developed. As well as the standard 'GS' (General Service) vehicles, a common variant was the 'FFR' (Fitted For Radio', which had 24-
volt
The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827).
Defi ...
electrics and a large engine-powered generator to power on-board radios. There were also Ambulances on the series-II and series-III chassis. A well-known version was the LRDPV (Long-Range Desert Patrol Vehicle), commonly called the 'Pink Panther', on account of their distinctive light pink sand camouflage. These series IIs were converted by
Marshall's of Cambridge by being stripped of doors and windscreens and fitted with
grenade launchers, a
machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...
mounting ring and long-range fuel tanks and water tanks. They were used by the
SAS for desert patrol and special operations.
![Land Rover Lightweight (9896535976)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Land_Rover_Lightweight_%289896535976%29.jpg)
By the late 1970s, the British Army had acquired around 9,000 series-III models, which were mainly a special "heavy duty" version of the soft top. These models had improved suspension components and a different chassis cross-member design. These were produced in 12-volt 'GS' models and 24-volt 'FFR' versions. A small number were GS and FFR models, but in general the Army used the air-portable half-ton,
"lightweight" version. The lightweight was in service by many armies all over the world. In Europe also the
Royal Dutch Ground Forces and the Danish Army used the Land Rover lightweight. Instead of the petrol engine the Dutch and Danish lightweights had diesel engines. Instead of the canvas top the Dutch ones had PVC tops like the modern Land Rover "Wolf".
In addition, there were also
Forward Control
Cab-over, also known as cab over engine (COE), cab forward (U.S.), flat nose (Canada), or forward control (UK), is a body style of truck, bus, or van that has a vertical front, "flat face" or a semi-hood, with the cab of the truck sitting ab ...
models, FV18067
ambulance
An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport.
Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...
s built by
Marshall Aerospace
Marshall Group, formerly Marshall of Cambridge and Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group, is a British company headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Subsidiaries include Marshall Aerospace, an aircraft maintenance, modification, and desig ...
of Cambridge.
The
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
and
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
also acquired and maintained smaller Land Rover fleets during the 1960s and 1970s. The RAF used models for communications, liaison, personnel transport and airfield tractor duties. The Royal Navy's fleet was, understandably, small and consisted mainly of GS-spec and Station Wagon versions for personnel and cargo transport.
All British military Land Rovers used the 2.25-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, except the forward control 101 which used the 3.5 litre Rover V8 engine . However, some overseas customers (such as The Netherlands) specified the 2.25-litre diesel unit instead.
The Land Rover is also the basis for the
Shorland Internal Security Patrol Vehicle developed by
Short Brothers
Short Brothers plc, usually referred to as Shorts or Short, is an aerospace company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Shorts was founded in 1908 in London, and was the first company in the world to make production aeroplanes. It was particu ...
.
Australia
![Australian Army land rover used in UNTAG](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Australian_Army_land_rover_used_in_UNTAG.JPG)
The Australian-made series 1, 2, 2A and 3 were widely used by the
Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...
,
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
and
Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
.
Most were GS (General Service) mobility vehicles with variants built as
Long Range Patrol Vehicle
The Long Range Patrol Vehicle (LRPV) is a 6x6 patrol vehicle that was used by the Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Design
The SASR's first long ranged patrol vehicles were modified Series II Land Rovers. ...
s, ambulances, command reconnaissance cars, fire tenders and ceremonial vehicles.
The first was delivered to the Army in 1948 and the series 1 gradually replaced the World War II era
Austin Champ
The Austin Champ was a military and civilian jeep-like vehicle made by the Austin Motor Company in the 1950s. The army version was officially known as "Truck, 1/4 ton, CT, 4×4, Cargo & FFW, Austin Mk.1" however the civilian name "Champ" was un ...
s and
Jeeps
Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Moto ...
. The series 2 was introduced in 1958, the 2a in 1963 and series 3 in 1973.
72 of the series 2 were fitted as an anti-tank "gunbuggy" with a
106mm recoilless rifle.
The
Land Rover Perentie
The Land Rover Perentie is a nickname for the Land Rover 110 produced by JRA Limited for the Australian Army, and part manufactured and assembled in Moorebank, New South Wales, during the 1980s and 1990s. There were two build contracts; the fir ...
, commonly thought to be a military variant of the
Land Rover Defender
The Land Rover Defender (initially introduced as the Land Rover 110 / One Ten, and in 1984 joined by the Land Rover 90 / Ninety, plus the new, extra-length Land Rover 127 in 1985) is a series of British off-road cars and pick-up truck, pickup ...
, was introduced in 1987, 3 years before the Defender was named in 1990. Over 2,500 four wheel drive and 400 six wheel drive remain in service.
New Zealand
The
New Zealand Army
, image = New Zealand Army Logo.png
, image_size = 175px
, caption =
, start_date =
, country =
, branch = ...
purchased 640 of the Australian-made series 1 between 1951-1953. A similar number of series 2 were purchased in 1959-1962 and a small batch of series 2A in 1965-1967. New Zealand purchased a small number of ex-Australian series 2 and 2A vehicles in 1971-72, out of the pool used by the
ANZUK force in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, which were typically re-manufactured by BLMC NZ Ltd in Wellington and hence carry New Zealand build plates. These are commonly called a Land Rover "Skippy" and are distinctive with differently cut guards. The New Zealand Army purchased 566 Series 3 109" V8s, entering service over the period 1982 - 1986.
The last Land Rover V8s were phased out of New Zealand service in 2006 when they were replaced by 321
Pinzgauer High-Mobility All-Terrain Vehicles.
Minerva
![Minerva Land Rover IMG 1546](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Minerva_Land_Rover_IMG_1546.jpg)
Minerva (automobile), Minerva of Belgium produced a version of the Standard Vanguard, under licence from the
Standard Motor Company
The Standard Motor Company Limited was a motor vehicle manufacturer, founded in Coventry, England, in 1903 by Reginald Walter Maudslay. For many years, it manufactured Ferguson TE20 tractors powered by its Vanguard engine. All Standard's tracto ...
.
When Belgium's army needed a lightweight 4×4 vehicle, the head of Minerva, Monsieur van Roggen approached Rover in the spring of 1951. On 21 June, Rover discovered that they were competing against
Willys Jeep
The Willys MB and the Ford GPW, both formally called the U.S. Army Truck, -ton, 4×4, Command Reconnaissance, commonly known as the Willys Jeep, Jeep, or jeep, and sometimes referred to by its supply catalogue designation G503,According to i ...
for the contract. In October 1951, the deal was agreed and in 1952, the Minerva-Land Rover was produced. Both 80" and 86" models were made until production ended in 1956.
The Rover company supplied technical support for Minerva and allowed Minerva to produce Land Rovers under licence.
Arthur Goddard, Rover Assistant Chief Engineer and head of Land Rover development was in charge of approving the changes Minerva wanted to make to the Land Rover as well as setting the factory up to assemble the vehicles.
Santana
Santana Motor, Santana Motor S.A. was a Spanish car manufacturer based in Linares, Jaén, Linares, in the province of Jaén, Spain, Jaén, Spain.
![Land Rover Santana 1970 (34621253545)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Land_Rover_Santana_1970_%2834621253545%29.jpg)
The company was founded as "Metalúrgica de Santa Ana, SA" and originally manufactured agricultural equipment. The company was set up with a start up of just 3 million pesetas, following a drive by the Spanish government in 1954 who were offering start-up incentives to local businesses to encourage development in the Andalucia region of Southern Spain.
The company decided to expand beyond its original products line and entered into talks with the Rover Company, Rover car company in 1956 in an attempt to get a licensing agreement to build Land Rover series models in their factory, in a similar way to the Minerva (automobile), Minerva company in Belgium, Tempo (car), Tempo in Germany and Morattab company in Iran, all built series Land Rovers under licence. An agreement was reached in 1956 and production began in 1958 it was licensed to build Land Rover models. The Santana Motor company built series Land Rovers under licence in CKD form (Complete knock down, Complete Knocked Down kits); essentially parts were shipped over from the Solihull plant, Land Rover factory in Solihull and the Land Rovers were built up from this 'kit' at the Santana factory in Spain.
From 1968 Santana began to develop its own versions of the Land Rover series models, developing new engines and new models and this close relationship with Land Rover led the company to change its name from "Metalúrgica de Santa Ana, SA" to "Land Rover Santana, SA".
In 1962 the company became responsible for promoting the Santana and Land Rover brands in Central and South American Markets as well as Africa. CKD kits were also supplied to the Moroccan and Costa Rican markets by the company. Because of the harsh working lives vehicles endured in these environments, customer feedback on the range meant that Santana were often far more aware of each model's failings than the Land Rover company itself was. Because of the tight financial position in this period of
British Leyland
British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It was partl ...
(which owned Land Rover), Santana were often better placed than Land Rover was to deal with these failings. This meant that Santana began to engineer its own solutions to common problems into the models it produced and thus Santana's models diverged from Land Rover's original products. Up to the late 1980s the Santana models – supposed to be quickly and cheaply built versions of Land Rover's original product - often ended up being quite different from Land Rover's own vehicles. For instance Santana models featured anatomical seats, disc-brakes, turbo diesel engines, taper-leaf springs, coil springs, and civilian-specification Forward Control versions before the Land Rover equivalents and there was even a civilian version of the Land Rover 1/2 ton Lightweight, Land Rover Lightweight called the "Ligero" which was never released by Land Rover.
The Santana Motor Company ended its agreement with Land Rover in 1983 but continued to develop its own range of vehicles which remained visually similar to Land Rover's series and Defender range.
Santana's later (non Suzuki licensed) vehicles were developments of the series leaf sprung chassis – the PS-10 and the Iveco Massif, that replaced the Land Rover that was locally assembled there. Poor sales, quality issues and the Fiat/Iveco merger with Chrysler who owned Jeep causing the end of Iveco Massif production by Santana, put the company out of business in 2011, with the models being replaced by the Jeep Wrangler (JK), Jeep Wrangler vehicle.
See also
* Austin Gipsy
* Military light utility vehicle
References
External links
Land Rover International Official website*
*
{{British Motor Holdings and British Leyland cars, 1966-1986
Military vehicles of the United Kingdom
Off-road vehicles
All-wheel-drive vehicles
Cars introduced in 1948
1950s cars
1960s cars
1970s cars
1980s cars
Land Rover vehicles, Series
Military light utility vehicles
First car made by manufacturer
Panel trucks