Land Rover Range Rover Classic V8

Land Rover Range Rover Classic V8

The Range Rover, launched in 1970, is one of the most influential vehicles in automotive history. Before it existed, the concept of a comfortable, fast, refined vehicle that could also traverse the most demanding terrain simply didn't exist. Designed by Spen King and Gordon Bashford, the Range Rover combined Land Rover's off-road expertise with the refinement of a Rover saloon. The Buick-derived all-aluminum V8 engine provided effortless performance, the permanent four-wheel drive with lockable center differential ensured go-anywhere capability, and the long-travel coil spring suspension gave both off-road articulation and reasonable on-road comfort. The David Bache-styled body was so elegant that a Range Rover was exhibited in the Louvre as an exemplary piece of industrial design — the first vehicle ever granted this honor. Initially offered only as a two-door (a four-door didn't arrive until 1981), the Range Rover was positioned as an 'estate car' — utilitarian inside with vinyl seats and rubber mats. Over its 26-year production life, it evolved from a farmer's tool into a luxury icon: air suspension (1992), leather interiors, ABS, and increasingly lavish specifications. The Range Rover won the first Paris-Dakar Rally in 1979 and crossed the Darien Gap in 1972.