Land Rover Monthly August 2018

I have just done the 55-mile Tour of Cambridgeshire bicycle ride on my classic 1986 Raleigh racing bike. It still has all the original components and downtube shifters. No carbon frame or disc brakes for me. In fact, my bike is 12 years older than my 20-year old Defender 110, which is what I used to carry myself, my London family and a couple of bikes to the event. You can fit loads into the back of a 110. The start and finish of the ride was at the East Of England Arena and Events Centre, home of the Peterborough Land Rover Show. I had happily paid over £50 for the privilege of riding through the local countryside on closed roads so you can imagine my shock when they wanted…

THE LAND Rover movement is in total and utter shock at the news that the manufacturer is to move Discovery production to Central Europe. The Lode Lane factory in Solihull has been the home of the Discovery ever since it was launched in late 1989. Around 45,000 of the fifth-generation models are currently built there every year, but Jaguar Land Rover is to cut more UK jobs as it moves all production to Slovakia at the end of this year. The news has been confirmed by the company, who have announced that moving Discovery production will slash costs as well as free up space at Solihull for future production of electric vehicles. But insiders are alarmed that no mention has been made of provision at Solihull for a production line…

LAND ROVER has enhanced its fastest-selling Discovery Sport range with a new Special edition. Powered by Land Rover’s Td4 180 ps diesel Ingenium engine, Landmark offers customers the best of the Discovery Sport range with a unique colour and trim combination. The first model to be built on Land Rover’s 70th birthday on April 30 was a Discovery Sport, at Land Rover’s Halewood plant in Merseyside. This vehicle will be used to support a number of projects in 2018, starting with a community resilience project in Scotland which will be announced by the end of June. The Discovery Sport Landmark is available in three colours: Narvik Black, Corris Grey and Yulong White, all featuring a contrasting Carpathian Grey roof. It also boasts a sporty and dynamic front bumper, with Graphite…

Lightening the load Researchers at Brunel University London are developing a new generation of ultra-light car parts for Jaguar Land Rover that will reduce fuel costs and carbon emissions. The three-year £7.5 m project is a partnership driven by Brunel Centre for Advanced Solidification Technology (BCAST) and it is hoped that liquid metal engineering experts will create incredibly light, thin-walled aluminium die-cast parts for future JLR vehicles, which could be used for shock absorption, chassis parts or door closures. Don’t fail the new MoT smoke test Worried about the diesel emissions on your Land Rover and whether it will pass the new diesel emissions and MoT test regulations? The fact is, if visible smoke is observed from the exhaust of any diesel car it will fail. Fortunately CGON’s flagship consumer…

HOT OFF the back of announcing its attendance at the Top Marques event in Monaco, Twisted Automotive is set to invest £100,000 to expand its capabilities. Up until now, the Thirskbased Defender specialist has relied upon third-party companies to undertake bodywork and paintshop processes, but now it has its own LR (Land Rover) coachworks division to bring everything in-house. Along with dedicated workshops to undertake the paint and bodywork processes, Twisted has also recruited an experienced team of ex-Land Rover technicians to undertake the work. The business has made four new appointments in total. Chris Johnson joins Twisted as the new Floor Operations Director, to co-ordinate all processes within the workshop, while the new, dedicated LR coachworks team consists of paint sprayers Paul Thomson, Eddie Doyle and David Douglas, recruited…

FIVE YEARS ago, Heritage Insurance Brokers bought a Land Rover 110 to restore and modify so that they could use it to promote their Heritage Classic 4x4 insurance, a policy specifically designed for owners of classic Land Rover models. Thanks to a few choice mods, including a 3 inch Terrafirma lift kit, IPO winch, all-terrain tyres, snorkel and roof bars, Heritage’s beloved all-terrain champion has enjoyed off-roading and greenlaning across the country. It’s even been on an overlanding adventure to mainland Europe. Perhaps you spotted it at one of the many popular Land Rover events, such as Kelmarsh and Peterborough, on its tour of the UK show circuit? In addition, the interior of the 110 has been treated to Noisekille soundproofing, chequer plating and P38 Range Rover seats, while the…