Series 1

The series one Land Rover would have originally have been known as simply a Land Rover. The series one name was only applied at the end of the first decade in 1958 when its successor the series two was launched. The picture above is of the very first production Land Rover. It was originally sold to a farm and later was restored to take pride of place at the Heritage Motor Museum at Gaydon.

Two key figures are important to the story of the Land Rover, the MD of Rover Spencer Wilks and his brother Maurice, Rover's chief designer. The Latter, Maurice Wilks had a farm in Wales. On his farm he used a surplus world war two jeep which was beginning to show signs of wear. There was no production vehicle which would have served as a useful replacement as most Jeeps which were around were in poor condition also. Fixing up the jeeps would be expensive because spares were only available in bulk purchases.

This would see the start of a project that was geared towards building a 'Rover for the Land'. Some of the original prototypes were built on a Jeep Chassis including the legendary 'center steer' model. It was a rapid development designed to get the workforce back into employment post-war. The bodywork was made from aluminium, due to a shortage of steel. The land Rover was born. It was a car, a power source and a tractor all in one.