It takes a long time to run out of turns on the road to the California Coast. And they save some of the best for last. The road winds, dips and climbs through the mountains, skirting the edges along impressive vistas that give blue hints of ocean ahead. The drop-offs along the edge of the road promise about a one-minute freefall through time and space, so I take pity on my passengers and ease off the throttle, still taking pleasure in the corner-to-corner rhythm and dance of power and taut performance.

The New Range Rover for 2006, Land Rover’s flagship model and the latest arrival in the brand’s portfolio offers two powerful engine variants making this model even more sophisticated, luxurious and desirable than ever before.

The new Range Rover for 2006 is now the most refined, the most quiet and the best equipped Range Rover. It is available in two new petrol engines, a 4.4 litre naturally aspirated V8 and a Vogue Supercharged 4.2 litre V8, the most powerful unit ever fitted to a Land Rover. This engine option comes with 400 bhp.

Spending most of its life in and around city streets, our Discovery has had a relatively easy life for the past few months. So I decided it was time to shake things up a bit, and see if the Land Rover could earn its spurs on a 2,300-mile challenge.

With duties which included towing a speedboat, visiting a remote part of the Alps, hauling up to seven people and covering more than 700 miles a day, the Disco had a tough time on my two-week family trip to France. But it coped with everything magnificently well.

Land Rover’s US sales increased by 45 per cent, led by demand for the new LR3 and Range Rover Sport models, and in the UK, managing director of Land Rover UK Phil Popham says the brand hit 9,000 sales in September, the second biggest sales month since manufacturing began in 1948, and will reach UK sales of about 48,000 for the full year – a fifth consecutive annual record.

The new Range Rover Sport launched in May is driving sales and currently achieving 145% of its sales target. It is expected to achieve nearly UK 6,000 sales this year.

Land Rover is proud to announce the renewal of its long-standing sponsorship of England Rugby and Premier Rugby for a further three years. Land Rover will also continue to play an instrumental role in helping drive grassroots rugby across the country.

As the ‘Official Vehicle of England Rugby and Premier Rugby’, the RFU and each Guinness Premiership club will benefit from the provision of a Land Rover Discovery 3. The award-winning seven-seat vehicles will be used by the 12 clubs’ community departments to encourage youth and community involvement across a range of rugby projects.