Land Rover is the leading British car maker is well known for its four wheel drive car models with its headquarters located on the shores of Gaydon, United Kingdom. At present, the leading Indian auto-player, Tata Motors owns, Land Rover. After Jeep, Land Rover is the second archaic brand of four wheel drive vehicles across the globe.
History of Land Rover starts with the end of World War II, when two British brothers, Maurice and Spencer Wilks got impressed with the performance of the U.S. Army Jeep and initiated to design the similar vehicle. They carried on their plans with the British car manufacturer and introduced, the first model of Land Rover in 1948, named Series I. This model was a four wheel drive Truck which had optional doors and canvas roof. The design of the early models of Land Rover was bit shabby and unsymmetrical but it was considered as the best suite for terrains and fields.
In 1958, Land Rover launched its newly refined, well toned and efficiently powered, Series II. Series II overcame all the cons which Series I lacked, also it had a sober chassis design and slight facelift with good aerodynamics. In the same decade, Land Rover introduced its first diesel model. With the beginning of 60s, the company introduced Series IIA which ruled the streets till 1971, as Rover was acquired by another car manufacturer, Leyland Motors Ltd.
In 1970, Land Rover brought in Range Rover, which was equipped with the V8 engine and was crafted with an aluminum body. Looks of this vehicle made it one of the largest selling products which were much better than its forerunners. In 1986, British Leyland became Rover Group. During 1988, Rover Group was privatized and became a part of British Aerospace.
In 1987, Land Rover made its debut in the U.S. market and the company introduced its Range Rover for the first time on American sub-continental. By the end of the decade, Land Rover Discovery was also introduced which was equipped with the two-door entry. The golden era started for the auto-major with the beginning of 1990 as its SUVs became a big hit in the market. Land Rover cars got more waves in popularity after been purchased by the German carmaker, BMW. Land Rover Freelander was introduced in 1997 which also boomed the sales of Land Rover. In 2000, BMW sold Land Rover to the American car maker Ford in the sum of 1.8 billion pounds. In 2008, Ford Motors sold Land Rover to Tata Motors, due to its financial instability and bankruptcy.
At present, the auto-major, Land Rover is dominating the automobile markets in premium SUV segment and its other prevailing cars like Evoque, Freelander and LR have gained a lot of popularity amongst the enthusiasts.
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