Land Rover is more than a world-famous 4×4 brand – it’s an institution. For what was conceived in the 1940s as a stop-gap measure to help Rover Cars recover from its post-World War II blues, the Land Rover was launched in 1948 and quickly became a global success story and a huge export earner for the UK car maker.
This short video details the early days of this iconic 4×4 truck, from the austerity and severe shortage of raw materials in post-war England to its rapid expansion into a staggering number of export markets.
The Land Rover’s quite brilliant versatility is shown here, too, as it has been modified and adapted over the decades to serve in a huge variety of roles (love the portable saw mill being driven by the PTO).
We’ll always have a soft spot for the Landy, which noted author Graham Robson called the ‘Workhorse of the World’. Along with the Jeep CJ-2A and WDX Dodge Power Wagon, the Land Rover laid the global foundation that all post-war civilian 4x4s were built on.