Land Rover celebrated 68 years of history as the
last of the current Defenders was produced at its famous Solihull production
facility. To mark the occasion Land Rover invited more than 700 current and
former Solihull employees involved in the production of Series Land Rover and
Defender vehicles to see and drive some of the most important vehicles from its
history, including the first pre-production ‘Huey’ Series I as well as the last
vehicle off the production line, a Defender 90 Heritage Soft Top.
The Defender Celebration in Solihull saw more than
25 unique vehicles from Land Rover’s history come together in a procession
around the Solihull plant, featuring the final current Defender vehicle off the
line. More than two million Series Land Rovers and Defenders have been built in
Solihull, UK since 1948.
What began as simply a line drawing in the sand has
gone on to become one of the world’s most iconic 4x4s, earning the accolade of being
the most versatile vehicle on the planet, capable of taking owners to the
places other vehicles couldn’t reach. In 2015, a unique milestone Defender –
the ‘Defender 2 000 000’ sold for a record £400 000 (more than R9-million) – a
far cry from the original £450 the first Land Rover sold for at the 1948
Amsterdam Motor Show.
“Today we celebrate what generations of men and
women have done since the outline for the Land Rover was originally drawn in
the sand,” said Dr Ralf Speth, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover”.
Tosan
Aduayi is the founder of Trendy Africa Magazine and has been an Auto columnist
since 1994
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