Land Rover

The first Land Rover was officially launched in 1948 after a design was created in 1947. The Series I was officially launched at the Amsterdam Motor Show.

The Series I was based around the military, using surplus supplies of aircraft cockpit paint which meant that the early vehicles only came in a light green colour. Series II was launched ten years later in 1958 and was the first to use the 2.25 litre petrol engine. Interestingly, there was a 109-inch Series II Station Wagon introduced to take advantage of the UK tax laws. A vehicle with 12 seats or more was technically classed as a bus and therefore was exempt from both purchase tax. It also meant that they could use bus lanes. This made it considerably cheaper than the other, smaller Series II. This layout stayed extremely popular on the later models including the Defender variants. It was dropped in 2002, however, though its weird exemption status stayed.

Before Land Rover became, well, Land Rover, it was a product line of the Rover Company. When this became the British Leyland Motor Corporation, Land Rovers became part of the Rover-Triumph division. Land Rover became their own company (but still under the British Leyland umbrella) in 1978. This was following the success of both Land Rovers and Range Rovers. It stayed as part of the Rover Group under the ownership of British Aerospace when British Leyland was broken and privatised.

The success of Range Rover was evident from the beginning. And now, it’s been named one of the top British cars of all time. The origins of Range Rover date back to 1951 when there were plans for a larger Land Rover model. These plans, however, were shelved until 1966. The first Range Rover prototype was built in 1967 and was completed in 1969. It was launched in 1970. The Range Rover was never meant to become a luxury car nor was it supposed to become a status symbol. The designer of Range Rover himself spoke out about this, saying that was never the intention. Nevertheless, Range Rover has since become a popular sight on our roads.

Gold Wine Awards want to thank Land Rover Stellenbosch for making vehicles available for this event.

Contact person: Wynand Tredoux

Email: dp@jlrstellenbosch.co.za

Website: https://retailers.landrover.co.za/stellenbosch-land-rover

Telephone: 021 886 9904

Address: 43 Alexander St, Stellenbosch Central, Stellenbosch, 7600