The original Land Rover concept (a cross between a light truck and a tractor) is similar to the Unimog, which was developed in Germany during this period. His design added a power take-off (PTO) feature since there was a gap in the market between jeeps and tractors (which offered the feature but were less flexible as transport). More likely, he used his own experience of using an army-surplus Jeep on his farm in Anglesey, North Wales. He was possibly inspired by the Standard Motor Company, who faced similar problems and were producing the highly successful Ferguson TE20 tractor in their shadow factory in Coventry. Maurice Wilks, Rover's chief designer came up with a plan to produce a light agricultural and utility vehicle, of a similar concept to the Willys Jeep used in the war, but with an emphasis on agricultural use. Plans for a small, economical car known as the M Type were drawn up, and a few prototypes made, but would be too expensive to produce. This factory was now empty but starting car production there from scratch would not be financially viable. Also, Rover's original factory in Coventry had been bombed during the war, forcing the company to move into a huge " shadow factory" built just before the war in Solihull near Birmingham, previously used to construct Bristol Hercules aircraft engines. Before the war Rover had produced luxury cars which were not in demand in the immediate post-war period and raw materials were strictly rationed to those companies building construction or industrial equipment, or products that could be widely exported to earn crucial foreign exchange for the country. The Land Rover was conceived by the Rover Company in 1947 during the aftermath of World War II. #Land rover chassis numbers seriesSeries Land Rovers and Defenders continually excelled in space utilization, offering (optional) three abreast seating in the seating rows with doors, and troop seating in the rear, resulting in up to seven seats in the SWB, and up to ten seats in the LWB models, exceeding the capacity of most minivans, when comparing vehicles of the same length. All three models could be started with a front hand crank and had the option of front & rear power takeoffs for accessories.Īfter adding a long wheelbase model in 1954, Land Rover also offered the world's first four / five door, 4WD off-road station wagon in 1956. Most series models feature leaf-spring suspension with selectable two or four-wheel drive (4WD), however series I's produced between 1948 and mid-1951 had constant 4WD via a freewheel mechanism, and the Stage 1 V8 version of the series III featured permanent 4WD. In 1992, Land Rover claimed that 70% of all the vehicles they had built were still in use. Furthermore, due to post-war steel shortage, and aluminium surplus, Land Rovers received non-rusting aluminium alloy bodies, favouring their longevity. Contrary to conventional car and truck chassis, it used a sturdier fully box-welded frame. From launch, it was the first mass-produced civilian four-wheel drive car with doors on it, and an available hard roof. Though inspired by the World War II jeep, the Land Rover immediately distinguished itself from all other cars. The Land Rover series I, II, and III (commonly referred to as series Land Rovers, to distinguish them from later models), or simply the Land-Rover, are compact British off-road vehicles, produced by the Rover Company since 1948, and later by British Leyland.
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