Family Face – Land Rover

When my brother first suggested Land Rover for this, I thought it was a bit of a cheat – after all, the thing hasn’t changed in 60 years. But then… isn’t that the point…?

The first version of the Land Rover was designed to replace an ageing Jeep that Rover’s chief designer Maurice Wilks used on his farm in Wales. It was a utilitarian affair designed to use parts that were already lying around the Rover factory. The doors could be removed or halved in height, the roof could come off and the windscreen could be collapsed down…

Land Rover Series I (1948-1958)

[ creative commons picture from flickr user Ian Fuller]

Land Rover Series II (1958-1961)

[ creative commons picture from flickr user JohnnyRokkit]

To anticipate the pedants, the photo of the ‘Series II’ is almost certainly a Series IIa model since the owner claims it was built in 1962, however the II and IIa versions were virtually indistinguishable. The model shown below as a IIa is, in fact, a IIa facelift version…

Land Rover Series IIa (1961-1971)

[ creative commons picture from flickr user kenjonbro]

Land Rover Series III (1971-1985)

[ creative commons picture from flickr user FoToGuns]

Land Rover Defender (1990-2007)

[ creative commons picture from flickr user nasebaer]

Land Rover Defender (2007-)

[ creative commons picture from flickr user miki2605]

Tags: car dna, family face, land rover, landie