CROWDS of nearly 5,000 celebrated 60 glorious years of Land Rover.

Enthusiasts flocked to the Heritage Motor Centre. in Gaydon. Warwickshire, for the annual Heritage Land Rover Weekend.

Highlights included the Heritage 60th Anniversary Run when 150 Land Rovers from the oldest production vehicle, Hue, to the latest models from the Land Rover Centre in Solihull.

Emma Sharman, from Land Rover, said: “It’s been an absolutely fantastic weekend. We’ve been much busier than we have been in other years.

“There have been hundreds of vehicles here, including military vehicles and specially-adapted Land Rovers for people to see as well as plenty of stands from Land Rover clubs around the country.”

Land Rover again beat tough competition to win the Best Compact 4×4 and the Best Large 4×4 categories at the 2008 What Car? Car of the Year Awards ceremony in London.

The all-new Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4 2.2-litre GS fought off opposition in what is one of the most hotly contested sectors to win Best Compact 4×4, while the Discovery 3 TDV6 SE auto beat its rivals yet again to be named Best Large 4×4 for an impressive fourth year running. They were also both awarded ‘best buys’ in their respective price categories of over £20,000 for Freelander 2 and £30-40,000 for Discovery 3, as was the Range Rover TDV8 Vogue at over £40,000.

“The Sport badge looks a little incongruous on the back of the TDV6. The TDV8 has no such self consciousness”

With the TDV8, the modest 188bhp of the 2.7-litre TDV6 was transformed into a lusty 272bhp with the addition of another couple of cylinders and a big injection of attitude. This powerplant dwarfs that of the Mercedes ML320CDI (221bhp), the BMW X5 3.0d (231bhp) and the Audi Q7 3.0TDI (230bhp). It’s also an installation that’s more befitting of a vehicle that needs a truly imperious engine. Although the Sport is, in effect, the diffusion line of the Range Rover sub-brand, it’s still perceived as a prestige choice. The TDV6 continues as an entry-level choice but the V8 is a far more desirable piece of engineering. Stretch to it if you can.

Brookwells 25 year open Day was a great success. Thank you to all our customers who came along, it was a lovely atmosphere and the bacon butties went down very well!!

We had many vehicles on display spanning over 60 years of Landrover!, thankyou to all our customers who brought their vehicles along, it was much appreciated and a point of interest for many visitors on the day.Â

A BIG thank you to all our suppliers who donated for our Prize draw. Geoff Turner from Plymouth was the lucky winner of the Star prize the Britpart DB8000 winch.

We are having an open day to celebrate our 25 year anniversary on Saturday 28^th July 2007 at Brookwell’s Main Branch in Bovey Tracey, come along from 10am.

You will be able to meet all the team and have a look round our stores

We will have some vehicles, old and new on display.

Prize draw will be done, with a chance to win some prizes donated by us and our suppliers. All proceeds will be going to Devon and Cornwall Air Ambulance.

Our shop will be open as normal in the morning for all retail customers.

The Britpart Cellular Dynamic Shock Absorber represents a significant advance in Land Rover suspension systems. It features a cellular foam insert instead of a normal nitrogen gas or air, this is to stop the oil from boiling. The foam takes up less room which means more room for oil, 50% more, which offers maximum heat dispersion. Â

This heat dispersion translates to a very subtle but controlled ride that will not fade no matter how hard you push them. They are ideal for a driver who needs more control to compliment performance improvements or to enhance a standard vehicle. The unique design ensures ride comfort and cornering ability is maximised and of course they are superb off-road.

A devoted husband, Nick Pointing, helped his wife achieve her Chitty Chitty Bang Bang dream by converting his old 1973 Land Rover Series 3 into her very own Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car. The car took four years to complete and he modeled the car on a 1968 toy car for measurements. The completed car even has its own set of fold out wings.

Nick Pointing had no experience of building or welding but still managed to produce the car after several years of persevering. He stripped his Land Rover of all its parts except the chassis and engine. He then made the wooden part of the car using wood from the local boatyard and for the windscreen, used a windscreen from an old MG sports car.

The Range Rover Sport has won the AXA ‘Leisure Car’ of the year at the 2006/2007 AXA Car of the Year awards which were held in Northern Ireland a few days ago.

The award was presented by the Chairman of the Ulster Motoring Writers Association who said “Of all the vehicles judged in this competition, the Range Rover Sport scored consistently high amongst members. As well as its outstanding on-and-off-road capability, it offers a quality driving environment that has few equals. It is an outstanding testament to the UK motor industry.”

Land Rover’s Range Rover Sport is on sale and costs £35,000-£57,600 depending on the model purchased.

There is arising speculation that Ford may consider selling Land Rover. Ford recently had to sell Aston Martin to raise money to pay off some of their debts which are reported to be around £6 billion.

Land Rover have been owned by Ford since 1999 as part of the Premier Automotive Group which also consists of Jaguar and Volvo. There is speculation that if Ford did choose to sell one, they are more likely to sell Jaguar due to the fact that Jaguar is reporting low sales figures - Ford have already confirmed that they will not sell Volvo. If Land Rover did end up being sold, it is expected that it would move to America.

The 24th to 29th May will see the 2007 National for Land Rover enthusiasts. It takes place at Baden Hall, Eccleshall in Staffordshire.

Some of the events that will be taking place include winch recovery, an RTV trial, a children’s bike trial and a trailer reversing competition. The majority of the events occur over the weekend, however, the campsite opens a day earlier to allow for people who have long distances to travel the day before and after the event. There are several events for children throughout the weekend so it should be an entertaining weekend for all.