Land Rover Celebrates 50 Years of Range Rover At Goodwood Speedweek
To celebrate 50 years of the Range Rover, Land rover assembled 50 examples to drive the famous Goodwood Motor Circuit. Now over half a century old, the Range Rover is seen as the first of the luxury SUVs and started a trend which continues today. There aren’t many manufacturers out there without a 4×4 with regular car like attributes.
Quite an eclectic mix of models from all over the UK were used for the procession. This included fire engines, expedition vehicles, ambulances and a few record breakers.
At the head of the procession was the original drivable chassis built in 1969. This was used to prove the capability of the original Range Rover 4×4 system through the 1970s. This car was developed to allow engineers to monitor suspension and powertrain over rough terrain.
They formed on the starting grid with the famous pit buildings in their glorious original style as a backdrop.
Another significant vehicle used at the head of the parade was the new limited edition Range Rover Fifty. Built to commemorate the 50 year celebration. Number 1 out of a total of 1970 that are going to be produced.
The same group were then assembled for an outline of the number 50, which was captured from the air.
The 50th anniversary event took place during Goodwood Speedweek. This is usually an event over a weekend which combines element from the Festival of Speed and the Revival. Demonstration laps, racing, displays. This year it was live streamed and even had Esports sim racing, which was really rather good.
All four generations of Range Rover were represented in the procession. This included the Record breaking Beaver Bullet, which broke 27 speed records in 1985. The Trans-American Expedition car that crossed the near impassable Darien Gap in 1971.
The 50 Range Rovers then took part in a dynamic formation of the number 50. This professionally co-ordinated display was moving and created rather a spectacular image. It took some training to get all the drivers taking part to pull it off.
Rawdon Glover, Jaguar Land Rover UK Managing Director said ‘’As we continue to celebrate Range Rover’s 50th Anniversary throughout 2020, it has been a pleasure to remind ourselves not only of some of the extraordinary forms that the Range Rover has taken over the years, but also the people and stories behind them. The gathering was Of course, the gathering was aptly marked by the debut of the new Range Rover Fifty limited edition which epitomises the design, luxury and capability Range Rover stands for today.
I would personally like to express my thanks to the owners and collectors who contributed to the event, helping us celebrate this significant milestone in Range Rover’s heritage.”
The limited edition 50th anniversary Range Rover, the Range Rover Fifty. Have a look and confiigure your car on www.landrover.co.uk, it starts at £111,195.
Thanks to Land Rover for the use of the images.
Simon
The full list of cars that took part are:
Darien Gap Range Rover – British Trans Americas Expedition Vehicle
Ambulance
Greater Manchester Police 2 door Range Rover Classic
Range Rover LSE
Range Rover CSK
Bare Drivable Chassis
P38a
L322 Range Rover Sport
L405 Range Rover PHEV
P38 Holland and Holland
Range Rover Sport SVR
Range Rover Velar SVAD
Range Rover Evoque (New)
Beaver Bullet
P38a stretched limo
P38 Linley
Camel Trophy Range Rover
G4 Challenge Range Rover
Range Rover Fifty LE
Bowler EXR-S
1993 2 Door factory 200TDI
Evoque Convertible
Range Rover Sport
Classic – Tuscan Blue
Classic – Masai Red
Classic – Bahama Gold
Classic – Davos White
Range Rover Sport PHEV
1981 Original Vogue
L320 Range Rover
First production RR – Tuscan Blue
1995 Classic RR Autobiography
L538 Evoque 2-door
L322 RR from Die Another Day
L322 35th Anniversary edition
P38a Mobile Office conversion
1984 2-Door Classic – Saudi Arabia car
L405 Sentinel
Range Rover ‘Velar’ prototype
1977 Dakar Range Rover
L405 Pre-Prod engineering assessment
1981 2-door RR Convertible – owned by Roger Taylor
6 x 6 Fire Engine
RR Classic
Africa tour RR 2002 Vogue
50th Years of Land Rover
6 x 6 vehicle
Range Rover Classic Anniversary edition 21/25
G4 Challenge Range Rover L320
Range Rover Suffix-F