Land Rover: History

WWII Willys Jeep

The man responsible for the development of the Land Rover was Maurice Wilks. He was the chief designer at the Rover car company at the end of World War II. He had been using a was surplus Willys Jeep on his farm in Anglesey for a variety of functions but found that parts for his Willys jeep were only available if bought in bulk. His brother, Spencer Wilks, was the general manager of Rover at the time and together with him they decided that there was a market for a good off road utility vehicle that was small, versatile and rugged, suitable for farmers.

The Wilks Brothers

The first Land Rover was made in 1947 being a hybrid which utilised a Jeep chassis and transmission with a Rover engine and gearbox. The first prototype required the driver to sit in the middle astride the gearbox. A pre-production batch of 48 vehicles were then produced.

Land Rover 1947 / 48 Prototype

On 30th April 1948 the Land Rover was launched at the Amsterdam Motor Show. Due to the post-war steel shortage and the plentiful availability of aircraft aluminium Land Rovers were manufactured using a rustproof aluminium and magnesium alloy. This led to the development of their reputation as tough, corrosion resistant vehicles. Early vehicles were all painted green due to the use of military surplus aircraft cockpit paint supplies. The Land Rover was classed as a commercial vehicle and therefore it was free from Purchase Tax.

Series I Land Rover

Between 1948 and 1951 the Land Rover used an 80 inch wheelbase and a 1.6 litre petrol engine. In 1949 a second, more comfortable body option was introduced. This option was called the Station Wagon which seated 7 people utilising a wooden framed construction made by Tickford. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tickford) This model was far better equipped having a heater, a one piece laminated windscreen and various other options. The vehicle was sold as a private car which led to high levels of purchase tax resulting in relatively few vehicles being sold.

Around 1952 new larger engines of 2.0 litres were introduced and the legal status of the Land Rover was resolved. Up until this time the Land Rover had been classed as a commercial vehicle which meant that its top speed was limited to 30mph. on British Roads. This status was changed to that which we see today which is ‘multi-purpose vehicle’. In 1954 the 86 inch and 107 inch wheelbase models were introduced. These extensions to the wheelbase provided more carriage space.

Series II & IIa Land Rover

Land Rover Series II 1959

In 1958 the Series II was introduced. This utilised a larger 2.25 litre engine, had wheelbase options of 88 and 109 inches and a more modern body shape. The series IIa, introduced in 1961, used a 2.25 litre diesel engine. Further development of the Series IIa led to the 12 seater station wagon. In 1967 Rover and British Leyland merged. In 1970 they launched the Range Rover. This was followed by the Series III Land Rover in 1971. In 1994 British Aerospace sold the Rover Group to BMW and in 2000 BMW sold Land Rover to Ford. This move preceded the second major redesign of the Range Rover which was launched in 2002.

Lattest Model

Jaguar Racing

Jaguar’s racing history started during the 1950s. The company decided to participate in the Le Mans racing with the production of XK-120. Even though the car failed to win in its initial race, the very next year was historic for Jaguar. With the production of the C-Type car of XK120, the company went on to win the Le Mans. Jaguar won again in Le Mans in 1953 and again from 1955 to 1958. It was the Ferrari of 1960s that ended the run of brilliance of then Jaguar D-type. It was only in 1988 Jaguar came again to win with the XJR-9LM edition. Up to date, Jaguar is yet to win another Le Mans race.

It was during the year 2000 that Jaguar decided to join the very competitive F1 racing. Jaguar bought the team previously owned by Jackie Stewart and the name Stewart Grand Prix Formula One Team was renamed to Jaguar Racing. The engines of the F1 racing car featured the Jaguar R series for its chassis and features Cosworth Engines. The team was in high hopes as they hire runner up finisher Eddie Irvine. Also a good addition to the team was the former driver for the Stewart, Johnny Herbert. However, the company has little to no success during the Jaguars stint in Formula 1 racing. Jaguar, racing in its four years stint, never won the Constructor’s Championship, Drivers Championship or even a starting pole position in any of its races. The best finish of the team during its stint was 2002 with Irvine finishing 9th place. Clearly, Jaguar’s place in racing history seemed to be non-existent because of mismanagement of the team and its resources.

Ford, its parent company decided to end its F1 race in after the 2004 season. The Jaguar Racing team was purchased and replaced by Red Bull for the 2005 season.

Jaguar History

Jaguar started in 1922 under the legendary name Swallow Sidecar Company or the SS. The original proprietors of the company were William Lyons and William Walmsley. The company officially changed its name to Jaguar in 1935. The production of cars stopped during the World War II and the company manufactured only sidecars and airplane parts during those hard times.

The company again regenerated its production in 1948 with the release of the XK120 sports car. Only 200 cars were originally planned to be placed in production. However demands has been high and the company since then released other editions based on the XK120 considered by some as the fastest car during that time. Production of this car went on until the late 50s.

The 1960 was the dawn of the E-type vehicles. These types of vehicles were also known as the XKE type of vehicles. It was during that time the company also merged with Daimler Cars originally owned by the Birmingham Small Arms Company. E-Type series continued its production until the early 70s.

1974 was the release of XJ series of Jaguar Cars with XJ12 Saloon. These types of cars continued in production until today. It was during the 1970 until late 80s the car was regarded to be reliable. However, its status as the premier sports and luxury car was revived when the company was officially bought by Ford in 1989. Four years after, JaguarXJ12 was born yet again with a different body.

Currently, the three latest cars designed by Jaguar are the XKR for sports-type vehicles, XJ8 for luxury cars and the C-XF for compact luxury cars. The XF was unveiled only in January, and is planned to be in production in 2008. C-XF is known to be a departure from other car designs. Its looks are still compact but it has a big of edgy sports car kind of feel– only that it has four doors instead of two.