| Just about everyone recognizes the Land Rover | | | | springs with a more sybaritic interior for a more |
| name as the epitome of all-terrain vehicles emulated | | | | comfortable ride. Its all-drive gear train now comes |
| by virtually every known automotive marques. With | | | | from the upscale range Rover line. |
| the exception of the Jeep, no other all-terrain 4X4 | | | | Together with the release of the Discovery model a |
| utility road vehicle has the same storied history dating | | | | year earlier, Land Rover now eschews a new naming |
| back to the post-war 40s as the Land Rover name. | | | | convention that no longer relied on numbers to |
| The Land Rover leverages its unique expertise with | | | | distinguish models. So you have the Defender, |
| the new Defender, Discovery and Freelander series | | | | Discovery and Freelander lines. With engines carried |
| that combine modern power and creature comforts | | | | over from the 80s models but enhanced with more |
| with the pedigreed marque that, together with the | | | | power, improved turbo-charging, direct fuel injection |
| Jeep, created a new automotive landscape of sport | | | | and intercooling, you have the new Defender line |
| utility vehicles. | | | | providing better cruising comfort at higher speeds. |
| The Landrover Defender represents a break in the | | | | Carrying the same tradition as its earlier models, the |
| Series tradition and still comes with the an updated | | | | Defender came with models with at three wheelbase |
| styling that remains unmistakably Land Rover. It still | | | | lengths that share the same 90, 110 and 127/130 |
| has the same overall boxy body emulated by the | | | | inches of the 80s with a station wagon in the 110 |
| SUVs from Mercedes Benz, a sharp-edged windshield | | | | and 130 wheelbases that have become quite popular |
| and the signature front grill that remained largely | | | | until now. |
| unchanged since 1948. | | | | Special Editions |
| A Brief History | | | | In 1998, Land Rover celebrated its 50th year with a |
| If there’s any philosophy behind the Land Rover | | | | couple of commemorative Defender models – |
| success, it must be about “Never tinker with a | | | | one with a 190 hp 4-liter v8 petrol engine and |
| successful product.” 1990 was the year that | | | | another with a 40s revival look aptly called the |
| saw the first Defender line with some styling changes | | | | “Heritage". |
| on the Land Rover Series as well as its evolved | | | | Probably the best known Landrover Defender special |
| Ninety, One Ten and 127 models from 1983 to 1990 | | | | edition was the Tomb Raider created to celebrate its |
| just when the Series III was losing its competitive | | | | presence in the 2001 movie Lara Croft Tomb Raider. |
| appeal and ending with the last production in 1985. | | | | It was made in the 90 and 110 wheelbase platforms |
| Hence you have the similarities between the models | | | | using the modern inline 5-cylinder Td5 turbo diesel |
| of the 80s and the 90s. During the 80s, the Land | | | | engines producing 11 hp more than the regular TDi. |
| Rover 90, 119 and 127/130 dominated that all-terrain | | | | In 2008, commemorating its 80th anniversary, the |
| utility markets with only a few styling changes on the | | | | new Defender got branded as the SVX with a |
| Series III like a single windshield instead of two and | | | | soft-top Defender 90 and a Defender 110 station |
| more powerful engines like the 3.2 V8 petrol engine | | | | wagon. |
| and a lower 2.5 liter turbo-charged diesel and coil | | | | |