Range Rover celebrates 40th Birthday

The Range Rover celebrates its 40th birthday on 17th June 2010. The Range Rover was the worlds first vehicle as good on road as off-road. Phil Popham, Managing Director of Land Rover said "Land Rover has a unique history of product innovation, but the Range Rover probably remains the most historically significant vehicle we have ever launched. It is one of the most important vehicles in the history of motoring."

There have been three generations of the Range Rover, the Original now known as the Classic went on sale in 1970. The second generation Range Rover known as the P38a went on sale in 1994 and was replaced in 2001 by the current model. A second model line, the Range Rover Sport, was launched in 2005, aimed at more sports-oriented driver-focused customers. It has been a great success, and in 2007 was Land Rover's biggest selling vehicle worldwide. Later this year, a further member of the Range Rover family will be added, taking the portfolio to three model lines. The new vehicle will be smaller, lighter and more fuel efficient, tying in perfectly with the Range Rover brand's commitment to environmental sustainability. Yet it will be no less premium, no less luxurious, and no less special than the other Range Rover models.

The Range Rover is extremely well built with the interior using the finest plastics, chrome and wood. It is all very thick luxurious and put together very well to give it a good solid feel. The Range Rover comes with all the equipment you would ever need, the entry level is fitted with leather, 19in alloys, a CD changer, climate control, and metallic paint as standard. There is oceans of room front and rear inside the Range Rover, it is wide with supreme comfort for three adults in the rear. The boot is a good size at 535 litres and the rear seats fold over to make more than treble the load area.

Prices for the Range Rover start at £66,095 for the Vogue Auto rising to £81,725 for the Range Rover Supercharged V8 Autobiography Auto.

By Geraldine Ashton Green, motoring.co.uk