70 years at the Land of Land Rovers

Known as the “Land of Land Rovers”, the rural location deep in the Himalayas is reliant on a fleet of meticulously maintained Series Land Rovers dating back as far as 1957.

ALSO READ: Land Rover Club still going strong after 55 years

Towering gradients, rock-strewn pony tracks and treacherous weather are just some of the hazards faced on a daily basis by the residents and their Land Rovers on the journey to the hilltop village, which sits at an altitude of 3,636m.

This year marks 70 years since the original Land Rover made its debut at Amsterdam Motor Show in 1948. Land Rover is marking this milestone with a series of celebrations throughout 2018, including a special broadcast, record-breaking convoys and a display in London’s Design Museum.

ALSO READ: Lots of Land Rover fun in the Lowveld

Timeline – 70 years of Land Rover

1948 – Land Rover Series I launched at the Amsterdam Motor Show
1953 – Long-wheelbase version of the Series I is introduced
1956 – Oxford and Cambridge teams complete on London to Singapore expedition in Series I
1958 – Land Rover Series II unveiled with more refined design

1970 – Original two-door Range Rover (the Classic) goes on sale
1971 – Land Rover Series III launched
1972 – Range Rover crosses Darien Gap on 18 000-mile Trans-America expedition
1976 – 1 000 000th Land Rover built
1979 – A Range Rover wins the inaugural Paris-Dakar rally (and again in 1981)

1981 – Land Rover begins legendary partnership with Camel Trophy
1981 – Four-door Range Rover released
1989 – Land Rover Discovery, the third Land Rover model, goes on sale
1990 – Original “Landie” relaunched and renamed Defender
1994 – Second generation Range Rover launched
1997 – All-new Freelander is unveiled with innovative new technology: Hill Descent Control

2001 – Third-generation Range Rover with all-round independent air suspension revealed
2003 – Inaugural G4 challenge sees 16 teams traverse USA, South Africa and Australia
2004 – Range Stormer Concept previews performance Range Rover and three-door body

ALSO READ: There is absolutely no cure for the Land Rover bug

2004 – Discovery 3/LR3, the third-generation Discovery, launched at New York Motor Show
2005 – All-new Range Rover Sport unveiled
2006 – Freelander 2/LR2 launched. The first Land Rover to be manufactured at Halewood
2008 – LRX concept car previews design language of a new luxury compact SUV
2009 – Fourth generation of the Land Rover Discovery introduced
2010 – Range Rover Evoque, the world’s first luxury compact SUV, makes global debut
2012 – Fourth-generation Range Rover introduced – the first all-aluminium SUV
2013 – New generation of Range Rover Sport unveiled at New York Motor Show

2014 – Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) division is officially launched
2014 – Range Rover Sport SVR debuts; the fastest, most agile, most powerful Land Rover
2014 – Discovery Vision Concept previews design vision for new family of Discovery vehicles
2014 – Launch of Discovery Sport, a new premium compact SUV with 5+2 seating
2015 – Trio of end-of-line Defender editions revealed with biggest sand drawing in UK

2015 – Exclusive Range Rover SVAutobiography long wheelbase launched in New York
2015 – Evoque Convertible becomes world’s first luxury compact SUV convertible
2015 – One-of-a-kind Land Rover “Defender 2 000 000” sells for £400 000 at charity auction

2016 – Last Defender rolls off the production line
2016 – All-new Discovery with world-first remote Intelligent Seat Fold technology launched

2017 – Land Rover launches the fourth Range Rover, the Velar
2018 – Limited Edition Range Rover SV Coupé debuts at Geneva Motor Show
2018 – Land Rover marks 70th Anniversary on April 30 with celebratory broadcast.