LAND ROVER PHOTO GALLERY
"THE BEST 4X4XFAR"

  

Maurice Fernand Cary Wilkes, general manager of Rover,
had a US Army issue Willys Jeep, leftover from WW2.
When he realized that his beloved, little car wouldn't last forever
and new ones were not available, he summoned his chief engineer
Tom Barton to his country estate. He showed him what the Jeep
could do and said: "We are going to build a car like this!
A Rover for a farmer so that he can get everywhere and do
everything. It will be universal Land Rover."

Considering the fact that the company was in dire financial straits,
because people had more pressing concerns 
than buying and driving cars in post war Great Britain, 
it was a very brilliant idea. 


   

Tom Barton, or Mr. Land Rover, as he was called, 
was in charge from day one till his 1980 retirement... 
but he "kept advising his team" :-).

The prototype on the "jungle course" test track (still in use) in Solihull.
It debuted at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show 
and was an instant, sensational success.

  

King George IV and a gentleman farmer (suit, necktie... 
hey this is Great Britain :-) and their Landies go to work.




Sir Winston Churchill had to have one too. 




One of the younger Wilkes' is about to test drive this variant,
custom made for the son of the Jordanian King.

And it did!

Off road competitions in Great Britain became popular soon.

Crossing the Darien Gap, a 250 mile (400 km) wide swamp 
between Panama and Colombia, during the Alaska to Cape Horn Race 
in 1971/72. It took them about 6 months but the Landies won it.




No slope (or almost :-) is too steep for her...




...she doesn't roll over at a 45 degree angle...




...and she can go under water... with sealed electrical system
and "snorkel".

"THE BEST 4X4XFAR"    

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