Nine of Land Rover’s greatest hits

It may have been unveiled back in 2019, but this will always be the ‘new’ Land Rover Defender to us. What a thing it is, though, faced with huge expectation. With modern-yet-classic styling and huge off-road ability, the revamped Defender won our prestigious Car of the Year gong in 2020.

What else could kick off this list? The very first Land Rover arrived in 1948 as a utilitarian 4x4 for postwar Britain. In production for 10 years, the Series I originally used the 1.6-litre 50bhp petrol engine and gearbox from a Rover P3 and the roof was an optional extra.

When the Discovery 3 first broke cover in April 2004 it was immediately clear the Disco nameplate was about to take a major step forward. A hugely versatile car, the 3 was practical, mega off-road and good-looking too, while families liked the improved quality.

Before the first production Land Rover came the Centre Steer. This was Maurice Wilks’ first prototype as he developed his idea for a Willys-style agricultural workhorse. The centrally mounted wheel was inspired by the humble farmyard tractor.

Despite having already announced the end of classic Defender production, Land Rover returned to its icon in 2018, celebrating the car’s 70th birthday by fitting 150 examples with a 400bhp 5.0-litre V8 and an 8spd ZF automatic gearbox. Chaos ensued.

The original Range Rover was launched in 1970 and arguably invented the SUV segment as we know it today. Conceived as a larger and more liveable Land Rover, it was developed under the secret codename ‘Velar’. It was only available with three doors until 1981.

The 1995 film Judge Dredd may have a truly dreadful Rotten Tomatoes rating of just 22 per cent, but it did give us the Land Rover City Cab – a futuristic taxi for a dystopian future where Land Rover is the only carmaker left on Earth. Nice to know that LR is still going strong in 2139.

In the Sixties, the SAS commissioned 72 Land Rover Series 2As to replace their WW2-era American jeeps. They were converted to full military spec by Marshalls of Cambridge, before being painted baby pink for behind- enemy-lines operations in the deserts of Oman.

The L460 has essentially completed the Range Rover’s transition to full luxury car. Unveiled in 2021, it features sleek surfaces, big touchscreens and even bigger price tags. The entry level SE trim now starts at £99,375, but the LWB SV model slips easily past £170k.