Look back at the birth of the original Land Rover | How Land Rover has driven adventure and scientific exploration | GQ Editor Dylan Jones discusses inspiration with Chief Design Officer Gerry McGovern | Exploring the potential impact of electrification and connected vehicles | Tackling the 999 steep steps up to Heaven’s Gate in China
WORLD OF ADVENTURE 01 02
WORLD OF ADVENTURE 01 02 03 “EXPEDITIONS HELP ADDRESS PROBLEMS IF THEY'RE CONSIDERED PLATFORMS FOR BROADER PROJECTS, WHICH IS WHAT THE RGS LAND ROVER BURSARY HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT” TOM ALLEN, RGS LAND ROVER BURSARY WINNER 01 Former Land Rover principle designer Peter Crowley was part of the 1998 Fifty 50 Challenge that had support from a military-spec Defender nicknamed Goldilocks 02 2016 RGS Land Rover Bursary winner Tom Allen used a modified Defender to explore a proposed Transcaucasian Trail route 03 The Camel Trophy in the Amazon during 1989 proved no problem for brothers and farmers Bob and Joe Ives way with a few words of advice for the expedition team before they left: “If you have nothing else to do, then boil water.” The rest, as they say, is history. LEGENDS REUNITED 63 years later, Onelife has organised a truly unique gathering at Eastnor Castle, Ledbury, Herefordshire. An unusually heavy fall of snow has transformed the landscape into a stunning winter backdrop – and no better location to talk adventure. Eastnor has been home to generations of Land Rover development engineers ever since owner Benjamin Hervey-Bathurst invited the company to test the prototype Range Rover in the late 1960s on its extensive number of varied and gruelling off-road tracks. Here today, a visibly moved Tim Slessor has been reunited with one of the two Series I Land Rovers used by the legendary expedition – SNX 891, otherwise known as ‘Oxford’. The vehicles had been named ‘Oxford’ and ‘Cambridge’ by the team and painted dark and light blue to match the universities respective colours. Little of that original colour has survived the ravages of time, but that the vehicle survives at all is down to a bit of luck and the investigative efforts and dedication of enthusiasts Peter Galilee and Adam Bennett. They found the chassis of ‘Oxford’ buried and the other parts scattered around the remote island of St Helena in the South Atlantic. Sister car ‘Cambridge’, registration SNX 761, remains undiscovered, believed to have ended its days down a ravine in Iran. First Overland has provided inspiration to countless expeditions and adventures throughout the decades involving Series Land Rovers and Defenders. In a nod to this, Onelife’s select gathering at Eastnor also featured the 1989 Camel Trophy winning 110 owned and driven by brothers Bob and Joe Ives, as well as a military-spec ‘Wolf’ Defender 110 that supported the Fifty 50 Challenge in 1998. This raised money for charity UNICEF while celebrating Land Rover’s 50th anniversary by visiting 56 countries in 50 days. MODERN LEGACY An ongoing scientific legacy of First Overland is also very much alive, as promoted by the London-based Royal Geographical Society (RGS). Land Rover has supported the Society’s work both in fieldwork and expeditions for more than 25 years – the Land Rover Bursary Award provides funding and a vehicle. 2016 bursary winner Tom Allen is currently using a Defender 110 on the Transcaucasian Expedition to explore and map a route for the Transcaucasian Trail, a proposed long-distance trekking route that would follow the Greater and Lesser Caucasus mountains. Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations adapted the vehicle to suit the expedition team’s requirements, providing it with 1,000W of usable power, three times more than an average Defender, a plethora of selfrecovery aids and even a drone-landing platform. In the field the expedition has mapped in detail approximately 60% of a viable route the length of the Lesser Caucasus, as well as gathering extensive data that would support the implementation of that trail. Asked about the changing nature of adventure, Tom Allen says: “Defining adventure as a journey of discovery is too narrow. The challenges faced by a great proportion of people on Earth remain real and immediate. Expeditions help address some of these problems if they‘re considered platforms for broader projects, which is what the RGS Land Rover Bursary has always been about. Our project is niche – but it‘s an example of the kind of issues that expeditions can tackle today which might not be immediately obvious on a global scale, but still matter on a local level. “We should continue to encourage those armed with the knowledge and determination to tackle issues to leave their offices and seek them out on the ground where they are real and tangible. To me, that‘s what the future of expeditions is about.” Perhaps some things don’t change after all. PHOTOGRAPHY: ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY (1) 32
NAME: JAMIE SPARKS. AGE:26. OCCUPATION: MAGAZINE EDITOR. LOCATION: BRECON BEACONS, WALES. 51.884258, -3.436449 THE LAND ROVER EXPLORE: OUTDOOR PHONE The Land Rover Explore: Outdoor Phone has been made to help you explore further, for longer and with added confidence. Find new routes, tracks, trails and paths, step out and embrace the outdoors. Waterproof, drop tested, built to withstand temperatures from the mountain to the surf, and a battery that won’t cut the day short, the Explore will help you live your adventures to the fullest. #ExploreMore landroverexplore.com Unique Pack System: Adventure / Battery / Bike
Land Rover Magazine showcases stories from around the world that celebrate inner strength and the drive to go Above and Beyond.
In this issue, New Defender is put through its paces by two inspirational young adventurers as they prepare for an expedition to the South Pole. We also celebrate 50 years of Range Rover by taking a journey of discovery to Dubai. As well as looking back, we look to future as a group of visionaries explain the technologies that could change the future for all of us.
In this issue, new Defender is put through its paces by two inspirational young adventurers as they prepare for an expedition to the South Pole. We also celebrate 50 years of Range Rover by taking a journey of discovery to Dubai. As well as looking back, we look to future as a group of visionaries explain the technologies that could change the future for all of us.
Icelandic surfing, enabled by the new Land Rover Defender
| Artisanal globe-making in London with Bellerby & Co
| Gallery of stunning drone photography
| Author Helen Russell explores the meaning of happiness
| Exclusive short story by Jean Macneil
Shenzhen by Range Rover Sport PHEV
| A first drive in the new Range Rover Evoque
| Mid-century modernist architecture in Germany
| George Bamford on what makes true luxury
| Meet moon-walker Charlie Duke
| Carnival subculture in Brazil
Share the passion of a Land Rover-loving community in a remote corner of India
| Experience the thrills of driving on ice in the Range Rover Velar
| Explore stunning Donegal with seafarer Monty Halls and his family
| Relive the child-like sense of wonder captured at the Above & Beyond Tour
| See why the Range Rover PHEV impressed mountaineer Jimmy Chin
| Encounter the most powerful Defender: the Classic Works V8 special
Look back at the birth of the original Land Rover | How Land Rover has driven adventure and scientific exploration | GQ Editor Dylan Jones discusses inspiration with Chief Design Officer Gerry McGovern | Exploring the potential impact of electrification and connected vehicles | Tackling the 999 steep steps up to Heaven’s Gate in China
New Range Rover and Range Rover Sport Plug-in Hybrids | Why Oslo shines as a beacon of electric mobility | Uncovering Mia Suki’s unbridled passion | How Project Hero is optimising crisis response for the Austrian Red Cross | A stunning Norwegian drive in the Range Rover Velar
Unveiling of the New Range Rover Velar | Step inside some of the planet’s most exclusive homes | Man’s relationship with dogs | An epic drive through the Isle of Skye | The legendary Beechcraft Bonanza takes to the Skies
Unboxing of the All-New Discovery | A portrait of the sailing legend, Sir Ben Ainslie | Look into the future of mobility and transportation | Copenhagen – probably the coolest city in the world?
Meet Ratan Tata | Travel through the Outback in a Discovery Sport | Head to California in search of the Lost Coast | Sir Paul Smith and his bespoke Defender | Grass roots Rugby