Series parts, accessories and spare parts

The Landrover Series I - II Defined Its Iconic Place in Automobile History

Between 1948, when the first Landrover vehicle came off the factory on the island of Anglesey off the Welsh coast, to the time its was renamed the Landrover Defender in 1990, the Landrover came out under three major iterations in the Series I, Series II and Series III models that firmly cemented its iconic British hold on the world�s road going consciousness.

A Short History

After the Second World War, the British Army was on a lookout for a suitable replacement for its personal carrier vehicles that until then had been happily met by the Ford Willys Jeep that the US Army left after the war.

Maurice Wilks, head designer at the Rover Company based in Birmingham was said to have been inspired by the same Jeep and his Landrover prototype was actually built on its chassis. The first production grade Landrover made of aluminum was first exhibited at the Amsterdam Motor Show of 1948. It took the color from paints the British Army had immense surplus of - green. Hence, the first Landrover came in various shades of it and thanks to its non-corrosive all-aluminum body, the Series I Landrover, which lasted for 10 years before getting a model update in the Series II, built a reputation for durability under the toughest road conditions .

Over its 42 reign as the first SUVs on the planet, the Series Landrovers have found their way in many armies around the world. First used by the Brits using the simper 2.5 liter TD5 engine, the Series has seen action in the Korean War of the early 50s as well as the Suez Crises. The 1960s saw various versions on the same Series chassis that made into a multi-role personnel carrier, a long range desert patrol known in military circles as the "Pink Panther" and machine gun equipped versions.

Its versatility echoed much of the civilian after market conversion kits that allowed the Series Landrovers to be an ambulance, an amphibious rescue craft, a pick-up truck, a closed delivery van, a farm hauler, a police patrol and a family car. Its hand-built construction made it the easier vehicle to overhaul and modify.

In 1976, the one millionth Series rolled off its factory at Solihull. By this time, the Rover Group had released a more upscale Range Rover model with the luxury appointments that predated the release of the Cherokee Jeep that everyone is saying started the SUV trend. The Series Landrovers almost saw action in the Falklands War of 1982 if not for the sinking of the "Atlantic Conveyor" - a merchant vessel requisitioned to transport several hundred Landrovers to the Falklands. The loss nearly wiped out the British Army�s land rover fleet. It was soon replaced by 200 Series III Landrovers.

Change of Hands

After changing hands twice in the UK, first with the government-owned British Leyland Motors acquiring the Rover Company in 1967, then getting under the British Aerospace in 1988 but not before British Leyland was privatized and renamed as the Rover Group, the marque finally went into German hands when BMW bought the Rover Group in 1994.

It was just before this time when the Series Landrovers were officially renamed as the Landrover Defender in 1990, to put it inline with the new Discovery model being launched.

In 2000, BMW gave up and sold the Rover Group to Ford Motors who was only too happy to bring its American automotive expertise on the UK icon. But the global financial crisis forming in 2008 caused another change of hands with Ford Motors selling the marque to the Tata Group of India where it now enjoys resurgence in sales as the global recession is starting to lift.