LAND ROVER ANNOUNCES 70TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS WITH WORLD’S MOST REMOTE DEFENDER OUTLINE

10 April 2018

After 70 years of all‑terrain adventures and global expeditions, Land Rover has once again taken the Defender to new heights.

  • Giant 820 foot wide Defender outline drawn in the snow at almost 9,000 feet in the French Alps to mark the 70th anniversary of Land Rover
  • Tribute to the Wilks brothers’ first sketch of the original Land Rover shape in the sand of Red Wharf Bay, Anglesey, UK
  • Land Rover announces World Land Rover Day: April 30, 2018 marks 70 years since its debut at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show
  • Celebration broadcast on World Land Rover Day will pay tribute to the original Land Rover, as well as the luxurious Range Rover and versatile Discovery families
  • Watch snow artist Simon Beck produce the giant snow drawing https://youtu.be/TJIBcC7Fm4U

La Plagne, France, April 10, 2018 – After 70 years of all‑terrain adventures and global expeditions, Land Rover has once again taken the Defender to new heights.

Stretching more than 820 feet across, an outline of a Land Rover Defender has been created in the most remote location yet; drawn in snow on the side of a mountain in the French Alps to celebrate the Land Rover brand’s 70th anniversary.

The unique piece of snow art was created to announce World Land Rover Day, celebrated on April 30, exactly 70 years since the original Land Rover was first shown to the world at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show.

The unique image is a tribute to the moment when the engineering director of Rover, Maurice Wilks, first sketched the shape for the original Land Rover in the sand of Red Wharf Bay, proposing the idea to his brother Spencer, the company’s managing director. The forward‑thinking design was christened the 'Land Rover', the outline of which we now recognize as the modern‑day Defender.

“Land Rover is an iconic brand around the world and the outline of the Defender is instantly recognizable,” said Jaguar Land Rover CEO, Prof. Dr. Ralf Speth. “To reach the landmark of 70 years is truly special and we will mark it with a year of celebrations that represents Land Rover’s ‘Above and Beyond’ spirit and honors the people behind the world’s favorite SUVs.”

Land Rover is inviting fans to join the celebration of World Land Rover Day with an online broadcast from the UK. The broadcast will feature the influential people who helped create the world’s most‑loved 4x4s and the Land Rover brand’s most forward thinking technologies; spanning the brand’s original Series Land Rover and Defender origins, to the introduction of the Range Rover in 1970 and later the Discovery in 1989.

Snow artist Simon Beck, who specializes in creating geometric art on foot, braved sub‑zero temperatures to create the 820 foot Defender outline almost 9,000 feet up on La Plagne in the French Alps.

To produce the high‑altitude Defender, Beck walked 20,894 steps and 10.2 miles (16.5km) through the French Alps. He said: “Making my snow art requires endurance, accuracy and strength – all attributes shared with the Defender. Its iconic shape is so simple and recognized across the world; this must be the most recognizable piece of art I’ve ever made.”

World Land Rover Day is celebrated on April 30. To watch the broadcast and take part in the celebrations, go to www.youtube.com/landrover at 3:00PM EDT and use the hashtag #LandRover70Years

The U.S. market will be celebrating World Land Rover Day at its new 12 acre headquarter campus in Mahwah, New Jersey with a gathering of people and products of historical significance for the brand in North America. Members of the winning 1993 American Camel Trophy U.S. team will be reunited with vehicles that competed in the rally that year in Malaysia. The company will also have an original 1987 North American Spec (NAS) Range Rover Classic from the first year Range Rover was sold in America, and several examples of the NAS Defender sold in America from 1992 to 1997. The day will be capped off with an award ceremony for the new Land Rover Discovery from Four Wheeler magazine. The fifth generation Discovery was recently honored by the magazine as its Four Wheeler of the Year for 2018, continuing a tradition of off‑road leadership for which the Land Rover brand was built on 70 years ago.

While 2018 marks the 70th anniversary for Land Rover globally, the U.S. market celebrated the brand’s 30th anniversary in America in 2017 with record annual sales of 74,739 units, buoyed with the addition of the all‑new Land Rover Discovery and Range Rover Velar to the brand’s product portfolio.

Further information

70 YEARS OF LAND ROVER

TIMELINE:

1948       Land Rover Series I launched at the Amsterdam Motor Show

1953       Long Wheelbase version of the Series I is introduced

1956       Oxford and Cambridge teams complete on London to Singapore expedition in Series I

1958       Land Rover Series II unveiled with more refined design

1970       Original two‑door Range Rover (the Classic) goes on sale

1971       Land Rover Series III launched

1972       Range Rover crosses Darien Gap on 18,000‑mile Trans‑America expedition

1976       1,000,000th Land Rover built

1979       A Range Rover wins the inaugural Paris‑Dakar rally (and again in 1981)

1981       Land Rover begins legendary partnership with Camel Trophy

1981       Four‑door Range Rover released

1989       Land Rover Discovery, the third Land Rover model, goes on sale

1990       Original ‘Landie’ relaunched and renamed Defender

1994       Second generation Range Rover launched

1997       All‑new Freelander is unveiled with innovative new technology: Hill Descent Control

2001       Third‑generation Range Rover with all‑round independent air suspension revealed

2003       Inaugural G4 challenge sees 16 teams traverse USA, South Africa and Australia

2004       Range Stormer Concept previews performance Range Rover and three‑door body

2004       Discovery 3/LR3, the third‑generation Discovery, launched at New York Motor Show

2005       All‑new Range Rover Sport unveiled                             

2006       Freelander 2/LR2 launched. The first Land Rover to be manufactured at Halewood

2007       LRX concept car previews design language of a new luxury compact SUV

2009       Fourth generation of the Land Rover Discovery introduced

2010       Range Rover Evoque, the world’s first luxury compact SUV, makes global debut

2012       Fourth‑generation Range Rover introduced – the first all‑aluminum SUV

2013       New generation of Range Rover Sport unveiled at New York Motor Show

2014       Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) division is officially launched

2014       Range Rover Sport SVR debuts, the fastest, most agile, most powerful Land Rover

2014       Discovery Vision Concept previews design vision for new family of Discovery vehicles

2014       Launch of Discovery Sport, a new premium compact SUV with 5+2 seating

2015       Trio of end‑of‑line Defender editions revealed with biggest sand drawing in UK

2015       Exclusive Range Rover SVAutobiography long wheelbase launched in New York

2015       Evoque Convertible becomes world’s first luxury compact SUV convertible

2015       One‑of‑a‑kind Land Rover 'Defender 2,000,000' sells for £400,000 at charity auction

2016       Last Defender rolls off the production line

2016       All‑new Discovery with world‑first remote Intelligent Seat Fold technology launched

2017       Land Rover launches the fourth Range Rover, the Velar

2018       Limited Edition Range Rover SV Coupé debuts at Geneva Motor Show

 

Notes to Editors

About Land Rover

Founded in 1948, Land Rover designs, engineers, and manufactures its vehicles in the United Kingdom. For almost 70 years the brand has built a reputation for providing its clientele with some of the most luxurious and capable vehicles in the world; whether driving through the heart of the city or traversing the countryside on‑ and off‑road. Today's Land Rover lineup includes the Discovery and Discovery Sport; Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Velar and Range Rover Evoque. Land Rover is fully engaged with sustainability initiatives and social concerns with continuous involvement in environmental and community programs. For more information, visit the official Land Rover website at www.landroverusa.com.

About Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover is the UK’s largest automotive manufacturer, built around two iconic British car brands: Land Rover, the world’s leading manufacturer of premium all‑wheel‑drive vehicles; and Jaguar, one of the world’s premier luxury sports saloon and sports car marques.

We employ almost 42,000 people globally and support around 240,000 more through our dealerships, suppliers and local businesses. Manufacturing is Centered in the UK, with additional plants in China, Brazil, Austria and Slovakia.

At Jaguar Land Rover, we are driven by a desire to deliver class‑leading vehicles, which will provide experiences our customers will love, for life. Our products are in demand around the globe. In 2017 Jaguar Land Rover sold 621,109 vehicles in 130 countries, with more than 80 per cent of our vehicles being sold abroad. Our innovation is continuous: we will spend more than £4 billion in the coming year on new product creation and capital expenditure.

From 2020 all new Jaguar Land Rover vehicles will be electrified, giving our customers even more choice. We will introduce a portfolio of electrified products across our model range, embracing fully electric, plug‑in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles as well as continuing to offer ultra‑clean petrol and diesel engines.