History
Prototypes began to be developed in 1967 for a new model from the Land Rover stable; the pre-production prototypes were given the name Velar. The first Production Range Rovers were the 2 door version with 3.5 V8 alloy engines and had a manual 4 speed gearbox. The developments such as the drive train, constant velocity joints, coil springs and full time 4 wheel drive with centre differential was to become the basis of future Land Rover models. These early models had a very basic hose-down interior with rubber mats and vinyl seats, I recall the unreliability of the early engines; my father removed the engine from his and replaced with a more reliable GMC bread-van diesel to cross Europe. The vehicle was in great demand Land Rover could not supply the demand; this was reflected in the price which was £2000 in the showroom increasing to £3000 sold privately.

The Range Rover developed greatly during its long production run, these refinements included Power assisted steering (PAS), viscous locking centre differential, ABS braking system, electronic traction control and an electronically controlled air-adjustable suspension system. The introduction of the Vogue models in 1984 brought with them the introduction of more luxurious trim and executive specifications.

The classic started to be phased out in 1994 when 2-door model production ended, the 5-door model continued in production until Feb 1996. A total of 116,894 Range Rover Classic models were produced.

The RAF Fire Service employed a Crash Tender with the addition of a floating rear axle creating twin rear axle models know as TACR2. During service with the RAF this model proved itself to be very fast on the road, reaching 124mph and out running the Police Ford Granada's that were required to escort them on public roads.

Unfortunately when driven off road, the additional axle was prone to "digging in" on soft ground reducing it's off road capabilities. Captured here in the picture is a RAF Range Rover on active service responding to an emergency.

The new shape Range Rover II went into production in 1994 becoming available from 1995, this was superseded by the current model Range Rover III in 2001.