The history of Land Rover! In 1994, the Rover group is bought by the German company BMW. That year also introduces the second generation of Range Rover, while the original Range Rover changes to the name of Range Rover Classic, continuing with this until 1995. The Land Rover Freelander is introduced in 1997 and the second generation Discovery in 1998. In 2000, BMW sells Land Rover to the American builder Ford for about eighteen hundred million pounds sterling (approximately three billion euros at that time).

Land Rover in the Ford Group

Land Rover was acquired by the Ford Group in 2000 and became part of the prestigious Premier Automotive Group division of that consortium. In 2004, it produced 163,729 vehicles, slightly exceeding its 2003 production of 162,175 cars. In recent years it has felt increasing competition on all fronts, from capable all-terrain cars that challenge the strong Defender to a wide range of sport utility cars in the medium, semi luxury and luxury categories that concern its Freelander, Discovery and Range Rover lines. However, Land Rover remains one of the most prestigious brands in the category. All its models are made in Great Britain.

Land Rover has pioneered the development of electronic cross country driving aids such as the HDC system for hill descent control. In 2005 it introduced the new Range Rover Sport model, a vehicle derived from the Discovery LR3, which seeks to compete with medium, luxurious and sporty models such as the Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5. It got off to a good start when it was declared SUV of the year by Top Gear magazine. The engine was a V8 derived from Jaguar, with 4.2 liters yielded 396 hp at 6100 R.P.M.. According to factory data, it reached 100 km/h in 7 seconds and 225 km/h top speed.

Due to the crisis in the automotive sector, in 2008 Ford sold Land Rover and Jaguar to Tata Motors.

If you still haven’t found the Land Rover you were looking for, click on Land Rover Matchbox to see the rest of the models!