#FASTEST VEHICLE IN BRICK RIGS HISTORY SERIES#

The 80 Series arrived in Australia in early 1990 with considerable fanfare. Terrain Response linked the control of the engine, gearbox, height-adjustable suspension, the electronic differentials, and all the electronic chassis systems, like traction and stability control, into a number of driver-selectable modes to improve performance on different terrain. The Discovery 3 also introduced Land Rover’s brilliant, and now much copied, Terrain Response system. The Discovery 3 also introduced Land Rover’s brilliant, and now much copied, Terrain Response system And if diesel wasn’t your go, you could always have the very sweet 4.4-litre petrol V8 or the budget-priced Ford-sourced 4.0-litre V6.

This powertrain combination – modern V6 turbodiesel and ZF auto – was, at the time, a huge leap forward for family 4x4s. It was backed by the option of a super-slick six-speed ZF automatic. The Discovery 3 also introduced what was the first of the new-generation high-output turbodiesel engines to appear in a serious family 4x4 a superb 2.7-litre V6 with no less than 140kW and 440Nm. It wasn’t management saying ‘do this’ we did it ourselves because we thought it was a worthwhile thing to do.” “What! A Land Rover costing 2000 pounds – you must be mad!” was its reaction.Īt the launch of the second-generation Range Rover in 1994, Spen King recalled of the original: “We did it off our own bat. Rover’s sales department also thought the whole Range Rover idea was stupid. The Range Rover introduced full-time four-wheel driveĮven Land Rover’s chief engineer of the time, Tom Barton, wasn’t convinced of the concept, especially the radical change from leaf to coil springs for the Range Rover’s live axles. As Glover points out: “Spen King came at 4x4 design from a totally different direction, namely all-coil suspension, after he drove a Rover sedan over a freshly ploughed field”. The original 1970 Range Rover was the brainchild of Charles Spencer King, Rover’s chief of new vehicle projects at the time, and was simply conceived as a passenger 4x4 rather than a work 4x4 like the Land Rover.ĭespite its eventual success, not everyone at Rover was convinced that Spen King (as he was known) was on the right track at the time. It also meant an absolute minimum of tooling. That meant the use of flat body panels made from war-surplus aluminium alloy, as steel was in short supply. Given it was seen as a stopgap model, the priority was to produce the Land Rover as quickly and as cheaply as possible. Within months, even before the first prototype was built (on a Jeep chassis, no less), the idea got the go-ahead from Rover management. It worked, and popularised the idea that having a four-wheel drive made sense” Wilks’s war-surplus Jeep was proving just the thing on his farm and had him wondering if such a versatile, simple and robust vehicle, aimed at farmers rather than the military, could be the thing to help the ailing Rover on the path to recovery? “Wilks kept it simple and useful with uncomplicated engineering and barebones comfort levels. In fact, a WWII Jeep, owned and used by Rover’s technical chief Maurice Wilks on his rural property in Wales, UK, was the 1947 inspiration behind the original Land Rover.Īt the time, Rover badly needed a new model to stimulate sales given the limited demand for its up-market saloons in a depressed post-war market. The success of the 40 Series worldwide was mirrored here in Australia and you still see plenty on and off the road in both work and leisure roles. The 40 Series was produced in a range of models in short-, mid- and long-wheelbase as a two-door hard-top, a soft-top, a TroopCarrier and a cab-chassis and with petrol or diesel engines. The 40 Series introduced comfort and convenience features rarely seen in 4x4s of the dayĪs well as the big jump in build quality, the 40 Series introduced comfort and convenience features rarely seen in 4x4s of the day, while changes in production processes meant a better quality vehicle could be produced more quickly and at lower cost. “This is the vehicle that stole market dominance from the Brits (Land Rover),” Ian Glover says. It introduced the qualities that would make Land Cruiser the dominant force it is today. In one form or another the 40 would remain in production until 1984.

But Toyota quickly learnt from its first-effort mistakes and launched the 40 Series in 1960.

Fastest vehicle in brick rigs history