Creating Off-Road History With the Land Rover Discovery 1

Covering the broadest possible market segmentspartnership ended when BMW buying the Rover
with various products lines has always been theGroup in 1994.
marketing strategy of automobile makers unlessA 3rd party design consultant ware hired - the
you are just targeting a certain niche like theConran Design Group in London, to help the Rover
upscale sports dominated by Ferrari or the luxuryteam design a more suitable interior for an
upscale limousines like the Rolls.all-terrain 4x4 to be positioned more as a cheaper
Among SUVs, you have a number of Japanese,lifestyle alternative to Range Rover. It ended with
American and European makes competing forsome remarkable designs that in 1999 won a
world markets. The Land Rover has been aBritish Design Award for its custom sunglass
traditional brand that had its roots in 1948 and hasholder that's uniquely positioned at the center of
been the most recognized brand as athe steering wheel.
multi-purpose all-weather all terrain utility vehicle.Most of its interior specs had been holdovers
Its presence is everywhere, from the militaryfrom a Range Rover design mock-up. Its interior
forces in many countries, to expeditionary landstructure is basically that of a Range Rover with
transport as well as in the more mundanevarious functional design elements like its
agriculture and industrial settings.switchgear and instrument panel taken from the
It wasn't until the late 80s and early 90s that theMontego and Maestro Rover series. Its exterior
phenomenon of SUVs took hold on the Landalso borrowed design elements like the headlamps
Rover to start marketing a more updated seriesfrom the Freight Rover and the taillights from its
of vehicles that are at once all-terrain all-wheelMaestro van.
drive sporty with the creature comfortsBehind the hood, the Discovery 1 was offered
associated with urban driving on city roads. Withwith either a 2.5 liter Tdi diesel or the 3.5 liter V8
that, the Rover Group Plc introduced the Landengines. In 1994 it was introduced in the US
Rover Discovery 1 - the first in a series thatmodified to comply with the strict US motor
redefined the Land Rover as an SUV for th90svehicle requirements. Improvements were further
and beyondadded like Bosch electronic emissions control, a
A Cheaper Range Rover by Designmore comfortable ride, a stronger R380 gearbox,
The Discovery was born from a vehicle projectlarger headlights and a second set of lights on the
code-named "Project Jay" with the specificrear bumper.
objective of coming out with a new Land RoverOther improvements were done to comply with
model based on the chassis and drivetrain of thenewer European road safety standards. In 1995 a
upscale Range Rover but at a lower price point tomore powerful 3.9 litter V8 from the Range
attract a larger budget conscious market and toRover SE model was used. Its 1996 models and
keep the Japanese SUVs at bay. First unveiled inonwards were fitted with 4.0L engines had a few
the UK markets in 1989 as a 3-door model withimprovements that included a larger, cross-bolted
the larger 5-door variant appearing the followingmain bearings, revised intake, pistons and a new
year, the Discovery also came out in thedistributorless engine management system called
Japanese markets as the Honda CrossroadGEMS. 1998 saw the end of the Land Rover
between 1989 and 1999 resulting from theDiscovery 1 life cycle to be replaced by the
technical partnership with Honda Motors. TheDiscovery 2.