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April 2018

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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

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XXXXXXX LEFT “ TO TAKE ON THIS PLACE YOU NEED COMPLETE CONFIDENCE IN YOUR VEHICLE, AND THE RANGE ROVER SPORT SURE GAVE ME THAT. IT'S FAST, RESPONSIVE AND AGILE” PAUL DALLENBACH, PIKES PEAK RACING DRIVER 01 02 03 04 01 The 156 corners and 4,300m rise of the Pikes Peak hill climb proved no problem for a Range Rover Sport, which in 2013 set a record time for production SUVs 02 This Range Rover won the 1981 Paris-Dakar Rally outright 03 Downhill capabilites were tested to extremes in 2016 when a Range Rover Sport descended an Alpine ski run with 60 per cent gradients 04 Land Rover Germany supported teams with Range Rover Evoques in 2013 to successfully travel the Silk Road crashed into a stranded truck on the frozen asphalt. Fortunately, no one was injured, but the vehicle needed to be towed to Vancouver before it could be repaired. By mid-January 1972 they had made huge progress as far as Panama City. In a case of mild understatement, Gavin called it “an uneventful drive”. RUMBLES IN THE JUNGLE The essence of an expedition is thorough preparation. Based on assumptions made about the terrain in the Darien Gap, both cars were equipped with special swamp tyres. The jungle had also been scouted beforehand, but for some inexplicable reason the information wasn’t passed on to Gavin and his team, which on entering the jungle had swollen to sixty-four including a party of Royal Engineers and scientists. Heavy rain made conditions even more difficult, and as the swamp tyres proved to be ineffective, the crew was now facing trouble. To make sure the expedition could keep moving, Land Rover engineer Geof Miller was called upon. Miller flew out to help the team and solved the problem by merely fitting normal cross-country tyres. 100 days after entering the jungle the expedition finally made it to the southern side. Gaunt and exhausted, the expedition members had experienced a living hell, with malaria and fever taking its toll. At times, they had managed barely a mile a day. However, confidence remained high and Gavin noted: “Anything that broke, I took a polaroid, but even on the days when the temperature in the car got up to 140 degrees, I knew we were not going to fail.” A NEW GLOBAL LEGEND Out of the jungle, Gavin’s team left the scientists and the Royal Engineers behind them. Land Rover engineer Roger Crathorne stayed on until they reached Bogotá. Leaving the Colombian capital, the vehicles were doing well over 60 miles an hour again – stark contrast to what they had averaged in the jungle. On 9 June 1972 the Range Rovers reached Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of Argentina. A new legend was born, and Range Rovers would go on to successfully tackle many other expeditions and adventures the world over. In 1979 a Range Rover won its class in the gruelling Paris-Dakar Rally, before another won outright in 1981. Three decades later, the 2013 Land Rover Experience Tour Silk Road expedition served as the stage for the first long-distance expedition undertaken by the bestselling Range Rover Evoque. The Silk Road expedition followed one of the world’s oldest trade routes, from Berlin to Mumbai, including 11 countries and no less than 10,000 miles in 50 days. No walk in the park, but for participants it was an adventure of a lifetime. Finally, and more recently, Land Rover has undertaken a number of extreme challenges with Range Rover Sport models, from the Pikes Peak hill climb in 2013, to a downhill ski run in 2016 and the Dragon Challenge in 2017 (see page 80). Meanwhile, back in the grounds of Eastnor where the prototype Range Rovers were tested 50 years ago, a grinning Gavin Thompson sits behind the wheel of the original 1971 expedition Range Rover again. With the V8 burbling away happily in front of him, his only comment: “I can still smell the bloody jungle.” PHOTOGRAPHY: DOM ROMNEY, CRAIG PUSEY, DPA PICTURE ALLIANCE 50

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Land Rover Magazine

 

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.

Jaguar Land Rover Limited: Registered office: Abbey Road, Whitley, Coventry CV3 4LF. Registered in England No: 1672070