The Start Of Something Special

When Land Rover started dabbling in crossovers the 4x4 community nearly had a fit. The Evoque proved to be hugely successful but did you know Land Rover had plans for a crossover long before it?

To get to Land Rover’s first road-biased vehicle, we first need to look at the history of the second word in the brand’s name: Rover.

The now defunct Rover brand started manufacturing bicycles in 1878 but moved over to the world of luxury cars in 1904. It was good at building said luxury vehicles, as it was considered a realistic rival for Rolls-Royce.

But then came World War I. As you can imagine, there wasn’t much demand for luxury vehicles after the war ended and, even if there was, Rover wouldn’t be able to build them. The original factory was bombed quite badly during the raid so it basically started from scratch. Enter Land Rover, which Rover established due to the demand for vehicles that would help build Britain back to its former glory.

Land Rover’s Series models would prove to be hugely successful and it would eventually become its own brand separate from the now defunct parent company.