WHY RANGE ROVER WILL ALWAYS BE 'IN VOGUE'

The best birthday parties are those where friends celebrate the past, but also look to the future, writes Stuart Schorr, VP of Communications and Public Affairs, Jaguar Land Rover North America.

This Thursday, July 1, at a star‑studded event in London, we’ll be raising a glass to celebrate the Range Rover’s landmark 40th birthday.

In partnership with our friends at Vogue magazine, we’ll be hosting more than 350 key players from the worlds of film, fashion, design, music, media and sports. With Vogue helping out with the guest list, you can guarantee a multitude of fashion’s A‑listers will be on hand. Top designers like Manolo Blahnik and Amanda Wakeley have already signed‑up to be there.

Vogue is much more than a stylish partner for this special night. In fact the evening will be as much a celebration of Land Rover’s near three‑decade relationship in the UK with this icon of fashion publishing as it will be for 40 years of Range Rover.

Few people will remember that back in 1981, Land Rover was first exploring the idea of offering a more upscale version of its rugged, go‑anywhere Range Rover.

It commissioned a prototype ‘luxury’ model painted light metallic blue with contrasting gray stripes, polished wood door cappings, air conditioning, a stowage box between the seats and the piece de resistance, a custom picnic hamper in the rear.

To gather some feedback, the car was offered to Vogue with the suggestion that it might be used as a fashion photo shoot prop. The magazine promptly took it to ritzy Biarritz on the south‑west coast of France to feature it in a shoot for the 1981 Lancôme and Jaeger fashion collections.

When the magazine appeared on bookstands, the response from potential customers was remarkable. Everyone wanted to know when they could buy one. Land Rover reacted fast by producing a limited run of 1,000 replicas of the photo shoot car, badging it the Range Rover In Vogue.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Special‑edition In Vogues were offered in 1982 and ’83, each based on the two door Range Rover.

Land Rover added the name to a four door model for the first time in 1984, badging the most luxurious version, the Range Rover Vogue.

While Land Rover North America has never offered a Vogue derivative, for a long time we preferred to badge our top models the County – in most other key markets, especially the UK, Vogue has long been a definition of Range Rover bespoke luxury. It’s an example of one of those great partnerships that truly enhances the image of each brand.

Our birthday celebration in London this week won’t just be about celebrating the past, but it will also be about toasting Range Rover’s future.

It's going to be a memorable party with a news story that you won’t want to miss, which is why you might want to view it by clicking on www.landrover.com at around 3.30 p.m. Eastern/12.30 p.m. Pacific, this Thursday, July 1, 2010. Check back on www.interactivelandrover.com for highlights and a news update from the party.