Background
If aliens landed on Earth and there were no humans left, what vehicle would they see most of lying around all over the globe? The Land Rover, almost certainly. Is there a country without one? We doubt it. The Land Rover has been there, seen it all, and worn the battle scars to prove it.
If someone had told you in 1948 that the new Land Rover would still be in production 68 years later, you’d have laughed your head off. Nonetheless, despite myriad differences, the last of the line in 2016, the Defender, was essentially the same vehicle – an astonishing record that will surely stand forever.
For those of us of a certain age, the fact that even the Land Rover Series III was launched 47 years ago is hard to believe. While it was (at best) a lightly fettled Series II, it was a welcome update for those folk for whom Solihull’s finest provided the only viable transport to get them around their farms and across vast swathes of the developing world.
Initially available with either the 2-litre petrol or diesel engine from the Series 1, a move to larger and more powerful engines was inevitable; tectonic plates move faster than an early Series 2, even with your foot flat to the floor.
And while the 2.25-litre diesel engine that joined the lineup with the introduction of the Series 2a in 1961 isn’t the last word in power or refinement, it is hugely reliable and will run forever on the merest whiff of an oily rag. It is, therefore, utterly in keeping with the rest of the vehicle, which is distinctly agricultural but as tough as a miner’s steel-toe-capped boots. But boy was it slow.
The 72bhp petrol engine, on the other hand, might displace the same as its diesel stablemate, but it is a completely different animal, being silky smooth and a joy to rev. Not so much of a joy when it is time to fill up, of course, but then everything in life has a cost, and most agree that the moderate increase in fuel consumption is a small price to pay for what is indisputably a better driving experience.
Then in 1983 came the Land Rover 90 and 110, later known as the Defender, a vehicle that has rightly earned its place as one of the most influential of the 21st century. Able to trace its lineage back to the very first post-war Land Rover (and not a lot of squinting is necessary to bridge the seventy-year gap between old and new), the Defender might not be the last word in civility, but by heck, it’s a survivor.
The Land Rover became a much more sprightly vehicle when, with the Defender, it got a proper turbo diesel engine. Torque, performance, and fuel economy all improved, and it’s these machines that make the most usable Land Rovers. And, of course, they can all be repaired and maintained by anyone competent with an adjustable spanner and a pocketful of loose change, which makes them ideal as a starter classic, especially when you consider their ever-climbing resale values and the low cost of insurance.
