As one wanders away from 'civilisation' and strays from the tarmac-ed path of urbanity into the greenery and space of the countryside, one is more than likely to stumble upon a Land Rover.



From the battered, seemingly immobile hulks of the earlier Series Landies, through to the top of the range, all bells and whistles Landies of today, they still retain their charismatic, if functional look, and a charm that is lost when Air Conditioning, drinks holders and electric windows are added, and as reminders of a more bucolic and wholesome past go, this post-war icon of all things British is hard to beat. Some, with more than 40 years of use under their wizened old bonnets, still battle on in their intended surrounds - if only they could speak, imagine the tales they could tell.

How it all began

It all began in the period immediately following World War 2 (1939 - 1945).


The British economy was in a shambles. Material shortages were rife as resources were spent on rebuilding the infrastructure. The British car industry, which had been strong pre-war had lost nearly a decade of development.

Rover, largely due to it's diversification into aerospace production during the war, was in a better situation than most. Assisted by the government during the war years, it had benefitted from the construction of a brand new factory at Solihull in the West Midlands. The only problem was, what to build?

The Inspiration

Spencer and Maurice Wilks, members of the family that owned Rover at that time, laboured night and day to come up with an idea that would be viable to produce in the current economic climate. It needed to be developed quickly, cheap and use as little steel as possible. A Utility vehicle seemed the obvious solution, and the one most likely to win the British public and the Government's favour.

On his farm in North Wales, Maurice Wilks owned a WWII Willys Jeep that he used as both light tractor and road transport. Without Power Transmission Overdrive (PTO), it made a poor tractor and it's road handling had a great deal to be desired. Inspite of these set backs, Maurice and Spencer, saw in the Jeep the basis for their vehicle, and development work started immediately.

Right from the start, the need for economy was a key player in the ultimate shape of the Land Rover. Due to the shortage of steel, "Birmabright" was employed for the body work. This was not only easier to work than steel but far easier to come by having been used as the primary material in wartime aerospace production.

Cost restraints were also responsible for the creation of the Land Rover boxed ladder chassis. Olaf Poppe, one of the Solihull engineers, developed a chassis constructed of heavy gauge steel strips. Four would be welded together to form a box and then witted together into a ladder shape. This basic concept, born of necessity to keep costs to a minimum, proved so robust that it has remained, basically unchanged to today.

The Launch

By the summer of 1947, Maurice and Spencer had a prototype. Although there were some unavoidable similarities with the Willys Jeep, the Land Rover (initially a temporary name) was a more refined and practical machine, sporting front and rear PTO's for the farmers, an extra low gear for hills and a freewheel device that allowed permanent four wheel drive without tire scrub. A change of engine from the 1.4 litre Rover car engine upto the 1.6 litre was also made and finally on 30 April 1948, at the Amsterdam Motor Show, the first Land Rover was released. Although this only came to be known as the Series I on subsequent release of the Series II, a legend had been born.