RANGE ROVER

The Orignal range rover of 1970 was not designed as a luxury 4x4, in contrast to the way that other utility vehicles such as the jeep wagoneer the United States were. While certainly up-market compared to preceding Land Rover models, early Range Rovers had fairly basic, utilitarian interiors with seats and plastic dashboards that were designed to be washed down with a hose. Features such as power assisted steering, carpeted floors, air conditioning, cloth/leather seats and wooden interior trim were only fitted later, when it was realised that it had a far larger market as a luxury vehicle than merely as a more comfortable alternative to the land rover. The Range Rover introduced advanced features such as all-coil spring suspension and disc brakes whereas its competitors retained leaf spring drum brakes for years thereafter.

The Range Rover was built on a box section ladder type chassis, much like the contemporary series land rover, but utilized coil spring as opposed to leaf spring, permanent four wheel drive, and disk brakes all round. In the latest iteration, it uses a monocoque body structure. It was originally powered by the lightweightRover V8 engin. Early models of the L322 were powered by a BMW of 4.4 litre, until the introduction of a 3.6 litre TDV8 engine.