1948-2015 : 67 years of legend
On Saturday 21st of November, Land Rover France organised an unique car gathering event. That day, on Linas-Montlhéry racetrack, more than 1800 participants came to share their passion about a legendary vehicle: the Land Rover Defender...
Designing the futur
It all began in 1947, when Maurice Wilks, chief designer at the Rover Company, and his team developed a four-wheel drive vehicle capable of going anywhere. He noticed that there was a gap in the market between jeeps and tractors. The first ones were not powerful enough to transport big loads, the seconds were not versatile at all.
The vehicle, officially launched in 1948, was named 'Land Rover'.
More models, more names...
In 1978, 8 years after the launch of a luxury sport utility vehicle (SUV): the famous "Range Rover", the Rover Company changed its name for Land Rover Limited, capitalizing on the name of its best-seller.
The launch of the 'Discovery' in 1989 would have created a confusion and the brand needed to clearly differenciate its models. That is why in 1990, the "Land Rover" became "Defender".
Celebrating a myth
Today, Land Rover choose to stop the production of this legendary vehicle as it is not anymore adapted to the market. The Defender will come back in few years with a brand new architecture and new motorisations in line with emissions standards.
To accompany its product's end of life, Land Rover has designed limited editions honouring various aspects of the car.
The Heritage Edition: inspired by the early "HUE 166", it combines original design features and modern comfort.
The Adventure Edition: it enhances the all terrain capabilities and its spirit of adventure.
Defender Celebration day
Land Rover France staff was on the racetrack at the breaking dawn to welcome the participants.
About 600 vehicles needed to be parked, depending on the modelyear.
The terrapod permitted visitors to experiment the all road capabilities of the vehicles.
Other animations of the day: the Elegance Contest and an unique exhibition.
To close this rainy day, 220 Defender realised a gigantic Land Rover logo (150 meters diameter) while the others were parading on Linas-Monthléry race track.