Land Rover Monthly January 2019

TWO HUNDRED and fifty issues. Wow! I’m exhausted just thinking about it. Who would have believed, as we struggled against the odds to get our first issue onto the newsagents’ shelves way back in the summer of 1998, that our fledgling magazine would achieve such great success over the next 20 years. But, hey, LRM made it through. The ups have been greater than the downs and, today, Land Rover Monthly stands at the forefront, continuing its proud tradition of partnership with its dedicated readers. For me, it has always been LRM’s ability to get to the root of the enthusiasm for all things Land Rover that has been its greatest strength. Over the years, my personal favourite features have been the travelogues, as hardy Land Rover souls venture out…

FORMING THE centre piece of a new-look menswear department at Selfridges’ flagship Oxford Street store, the chassis of a Defender Works V8 entered through a first floor window, where it was reassembled in front of customers by a team of five Land Rover Classic technicians over four days. The Selfridges Edition vehicle began life as a 2016 Defender 110 2.2 TDCi pick-up but the Land Rover Classic team have turned it into a 110 soft top, complete with a branded bonnet in trademark Selfridges yellow. The bodywork is finished in contrasting Bronze Green and a heritage-style folding windscreen and half-height doors complete the open-air look. Designed to show what can be achieved by the specialist craftsman, it features chassis and powertrain upgrades from the Defender Works V8 70th Edition, as…

AFTER AN 18-month collaboration between Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations and the Austrian Red Cross, a unique lifesaving Land Rover Discovery has just entered active service. Developed from the original Project Hero concept car, the bespoke Discovery will operate as a mobile nerve centre for disaster emergencies from which the Austrian Red Cross response team can direct rescue operations. It boasts all the latest communications equipment, including an advanced eight-rotor drone featuring a long-range thermal imaging camera capable of spotting a person from 440 m and identifying a vehicle at almost 1000 m and obtaining precise co-ordinates. The Discovery Emergency Response Vehicle has also been kitted out with four radio antennae, 360-degree lighting and a integrated carbon fibre loadspace Command Centre, enabling Red Cross operatives to coordinate emergency responses as…

FOLLOWING ANOTHER slump in global sales in September, which saw a 12.3 per cent drop on the same month last year, Jaguar Land Rover decided to introduce a two-week shutdown period at its Solihull plant from October 22. Customer orders in the system were not impacted and employees affected were paid for the duration of the shutdown, but it is just one example of actions the company is taking to “align supply to reflect fluctuating demand globally”. The company has already cut 1000 jobs this year, moved some workers at its Castle Bromwich plant onto a three-day week until Christmas, shifted production of its Land Rover Discovery model over to Slovakia and reduced production of Land Rovers at its Halewood plant. Felix Brautigam, JLR’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “As a…

Land Rover rule at News UK motoring awards LAND ROVER has won two major awards at the News UK motoring awards – the Range Rover Velar is SUV of the Year and Discovery is Dog Friendly Car of the Year. Both cars were shortlisted by News UK’s team of motoring experts, including those from the Sunday Times, Times LUXX and the Sun. The public were then asked to vote on the shortlist to decide the eventual winner in each category. The SUV of the Year award is the latest in a spree of victories for the Range Rover Velar, which was recently named World Design Car of the Year. Prototype autonomous Range Rover tested THE FIRST ever self-driving lap of the complex Coventry Ring Road has been completed by a…

THE LAND Rover Legends show at Bicester Heritage will be back next year. This exciting new event, which was held for the first time earlier this year, is set to return to the wonderful and evocative Bicester Heritage site on May 25 and 26, 2019. Billed as “the ultimate show for Land Rover connoisseurs, preservationists, restorers and enthusiasts”, Land Rover Legends will once again showcase the very best examples of the marque. Event organiser Richard Grafton told LRM: “We received amazing feedback from the enthusiasts, clubs and exhibitors that supported our first Legends show, and for 2019 we have introduced weekend camping on site at Bicester Heritage and evening entertainment on the Saturday, allowing Land Rover fans to make a weekend of it. We’re also delighted to be able to…