Forty years ago this month a new type of car was born. There was no such thing as a luxury off-roader before the Range Rover, and it’s gone on to become an icon of British motoring, much loved by rural types with money and school-run mums in posh suburbs.
Perhaps what you didn’t know is that there have only ever been three versions in those 40 years. The MkI, as seen in the photograph, sold for just over 25 years in various guises and with numerous upgrades. It’s now known, for obvious reasons, as the Classic. My dad had one when he lived in the Middle East and I remember driving it through the desert with the sort of reckless enthusiasm that usually ends in tears. The Rangie just soaked it all up.
The MkII was launched in 1994, replaced by the current car in 2001. Recently given a substantial upgrade inside and out, including new cleaner engines, there are no plan to replace it any time soon. A second model, the Range Rover Sport, went on sale five years ago, and will be joined by a third very soon.
At the Paris Motor Show in early October, parent company Land Rover will launch what’s been known for several years as the ‘baby Range Rover’, or the LRX concept to give its proper name. Sized about the same as a Freelander, it will go on sale in 2011 and my sources say it will look very similar to the concept, also pictured. Looks good doesn’t it?
Breakdown Cover from 
