Nick Dimbleby
The Range Rover name is simultaneously associated with world-spanning adventure and high-fashion opulence. SUVs wearing the Range Rover badge have conquered the most unforgiving off-road terrain and ferried celebrities and VIPs to posh red-carpet events. This dichotomy is a feat that few automakers have achieved, and Range Rover’s history helps to explain how the model became so dominant today. Here’s everything you need to know about Range Rover.
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Land Rover Vs. Range Rover
Image Credit: Tim Graham First things first: Range Rover is the model name, and Land Rover is the manufacturer. So, technically, if you’re driving a Range Rover, the official registration paperwork will describe it as a Land Rover Range Rover. The confusion begins with Rover, a British company that started out building bicycles in the 1880s, then expanded into motorcycles. In 1901, Rover built its first automobile, and the company continued as an automotive brand until 2000. In 1948, the Rover company built its first four-wheel-drive vehicle, which was named Land Rover. After several changes in ownership and management, Land Rover Ltd. was launched as its own standalone company in 1978. Through most of its history, Land Rover has also had a long relationship with Britain’s royal family.
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The First Range Rover
From the end of World War II until the late 1960s, Rover built a single off-road utility vehicle, the Land Rover—often referred to as Series I, II, or III, and the precursor to the long-lived Land Rover Defender. In 1967, Rover began building prototypes for a larger four-wheel-drive vehicle, and in 1970 the first mass-production Range Rover was unveiled. From the beginning, the Range Rover was revered for its modern styling compared to the rough, rudimentary Land Rover—an early Range Rover was even displayed at the Louvre Museum in Paris as an example of stellar modern industrial design.
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The Road Rover Experiment
Image Credit: Land Rover After World War II, Rover focused on building conventional passenger cars and a small number of Land Rover utility trucks. The company briefly considered a new type of vehicle, something that today we would understand as an early attempt at a crossover SUV. The “Road Rover” project used the rear-wheel-drive chassis from a Rover P4 sedan, paired with a taller, roomier, boxier body inspired by the Land Rover. Various Road Rover prototypes were built throughout the 1950s, but the concept never led to a production vehicle.
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Early Simplicity
Image Credit: Nick Dimbleby From 1970 to 1981, the Range Rover was simply viewed as a larger, roomier alternative to the Land Rover. In this era, four-wheel-drive vehicles were expected to be rugged and capable, prioritizing off-road prowess over any thought of luxury. For the first 11 years of production, the Range Rover was only available as a two-door, with very few luxury appointments, a four-speed manual transmission, and an interior made of durable vinyl and plastics. The vehicle was technologically revolutionary, using modern coil-spring suspension instead of old-fashioned leaf springs, and offering permanent four-wheel drive and disc brakes front and rear—all of which set it apart from most other four-wheel-drive vehicles of the time. But it would take a few years for the Range Rover to morph into a luxury vehicle.
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The First Four-Door Range Rover
Image Credit: Jeffrey Markowitz Before 1981, if you wanted a four-door Range Rover, your only option was an aftermarket conversion. Numerous companies recognized that a four-door Range Rover could be an appealing family vehicle, and eventually, the Land Rover company agreed. The first factory-built four-door Range Rover was introduced in 1981, largely based on the aftermarket conversions built by Swiss luxury-car converter Monteverdi. The four-door Range Rover was such a smash hit, Land Rover dropped the two-door Range Rover in England after 1984, though it was sold in other European markets for another 10 years.
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Range Rover Moves Upmarket
Image Credit: Range Rover After the introduction of the four-door Range Rover, the model began a steady move out of the utility-vehicle segment and into luxury territory. Leather upholstery and an automatic transmission became available in 1984; a redesigned dashboard and wood interior trim came in 1985. The exposed door hinges of early models were soon hidden for a more refined exterior, and dashboard switches from Austin and Rover luxury sedans were soon incorporated into the Range Rover’s interior. Officially, Range Rovers were not sold in America until 1987, but grey-market imports were common. 1992 saw the introduction of the Range Rover LWB, with a wheelbase stretched by eight inches to add legroom for rear-seat passengers.
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The Expanded Range Rover Universe
Image Credit: Nick Dimbleby In 2005, Land Rover introduced its first Range Rover variant, the Range Rover Sport. Initially based on a modified version of the smaller Land Rover Discovery platform, the Range Rover Sport adapted styling cues from the full-size Range Rover to a smaller, nimbler platform. In 2011, Land Rover added another model with the Range Rover Evoque, a subcompact crossover SUV that, at one point, was available in three-door, five-door, and convertible variants. In 2017, Land Rover introduced a fourth Range Rover variant, the sleek and aerodynamic Range Rover Velar.
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Revolution of 1995
Image Credit: Range Rover The first-generation Range Rover was sold for nearly 25 years, with continual small improvements but no major redesigns. That changed with the unveiling of the 1995 Land Rover Range Rover, known internally as “P38.” Unlike the first-generation Range Rover, the P38 was designed from the start as a luxurious, high-end vehicle, with height-adjustable air suspension, Connolly leather upholstery, and in later models, optional satellite navigation. During production of the P38 Range Rover, the Land Rover company was sold to BMW, then later taken over in 2000 by Ford.
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Third Generation
Image Credit: Range Rover The third Range Rover generation, known as L322, cemented the model’s image as a high-luxury vehicle. Designed under BMW, the L322 shared drivetrain and electronic components with the E38-generation BMW 7-series and the E39-generation BMW 5-series. This was the first Range Rover to exclusively offer an automatic transmission, and one of the first SUVs in the world to offer fully independent suspension front and rear. Three-zone climate control, panoramic sunroofs, rear-seat DVD players, touchscreen nav systems, and backup cameras all proved that the Range Rover was now firmly in the luxury segment. In later years, supercharged V8s making up to 503 hp were available.
