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.”

SIXTY years ago a crude but effective box on wheels was born out of a wartime factory in a place known as Lode Lane.

The year before, also in Lode Lane, was born a man who went on to work at that factory as an engineer.

Since then, the utilitarian vehicle from those workshops in Solihull has become an automotive legend – and the man is now known as Mr Land Rover.

Roger Crathorne joined Land Rover as an apprentice in 1963, went on to help create the Range Rover with engineering supremo Spen King then became head of the company’s demonstration team.

It’s official: size matters in car design. Only instead of ever-bigger and brawnier gas-guzzlers, it’s the little guys who now rule the roadway. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the new Land Rover LRX. Long known for its size and off-road power, the iconic all-terrain brand is going mini (well, mini-er). Six inches shorter and almost eight inches lower than an LR2, the LRX was conceived as a premium car, designed to appeal to customers who want the benefits of a 4×4 and the presence of a larger vehicle, but don’t want to be held personally responsible for the disappearance of the ozone.

International sales growth and technical expertise have resulted in Land Rover winning two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise - for International Trade for increasing export sales by 52% to nearly £4 billion a year, an increase of £1.3 billion in three years, and the award for Innovation for its patented Terrain Response System.

Land Rover exports over 75% of the production of its vehicles to 147 countries. The brand achieved a third successive year of record sales in 2007, with a total of 226,395 sales, versus 192,511 in 2006 and 185,120 in 2005.

Employees at Halewood Operations on Merseyside are celebrating after producing the 100,000th Land Rover Freelander 2. The milestone vehicle has been built just 17 months after Freelander 2 production started at Halewood.

2007 was the first full year of Freelander 2 sales and saw the all-new model prove hugely popular across the world, particularly in key emerging markets such as Russia, China and the Middle East.

The 100,000th car, a Rimini Red 2.2 Diesel Auto, is now en route to a customer in the city of Surgut, located on Russia’s Central Siberian Plateau. Sales of Land Rover vehicles are booming in Russia – over 12,000 units were sold there last year, an increase of 95 per cent over 2006.

Bold evolution of Land Rover design, the Land Rover LRX is a desirable, premium and more compact SUV which extends the definition of ‘breadth of capability’. With its metallic black paintwork, silver roof and precisely detailed exterior features, the second version of the LRX concept is designed to show how well the vehicle can deliver a contemporary example of personalization. Using lightweight material technologies, Land Rover has developed a series of bespoke features for the black and silver LRX that add to the vehicle’s individuality and flexibility.

This article was taken from: AutoIndia.com

I clearly remember the first time I drove a Land Rover Range Rover Sport.

It was also the first time I had ever climbed up the side of a mountain in an SUV.

Back in 2005, Land Rover launched the 2006 Range Rover Sport as an all-new vehicle, using a route from Aspen, Colo., to Moab, Utah, as a playground. And boy did we play.

I was impressed with the Range Rover Sport’s excellent road manners, and we did plenty of highway and mountain-road driving on day one. But on day two, we took the vehicle in the wilds of Utah to test what is at the heart of every Land Rover: off-road capability.

Here’s proof that Land Rover is set to turn on the style. As the British brand gets ready to push upmarket, Auto Express can exclusively reveal the look of an exciting new model.

Our spies have produced these exclusive images from top secret information.

Based on the LRX concept cars that wowed the crowds at this year’s Detroit and Geneva motor shows, the newcomer is a sporty five-door SUV. It will slot into the range above the Freelander and go head-to-head with prestige brand rivals, including the upcoming BMW X1 and Audi Q5.

Land Rover’s LRX Concept was such a big hit when it debuted in Detroit that
It was such a hit in Detroit that Land Rover’s bringing it overseas to Geneva. (Photo: Land Rover)
it’s making a comeback for its official European launch at Geneva this week. The LRX, which is seriously being considered for production, will be shown off in Switzerland in two different guises, Black and Silver versus the original SUV’s shade of White.

Land Rover is showing a second version of its stylish LRX concept here at Geneva alongside the white original that was one of the stars of the Detroit Show in January. Those with sharp eyes will notice the new LRX has a new paint scheme, new wheels, a roof rack, a rear bumper step, and a couple of other new details. So what’s it all mean?

“It’s to show how we can develop a mass-customization program for the vehicle,” says LRX designer Gerry McGovern. The two-tone paint — a silver roof over black body — gives a clue: Yep, this is Land Rover’s take on BMW’s wildly successful Mini strategy, where consumers can mix ‘n’ match colors and accessories to the point where almost no two Minis are exactly alike.