Sunday, January 16, 2011

THE FIRST RANGE ROVER

By June 1967, the first prototype, fleet number Land Rover 100-1 was on the road and off it and everyone was pleased with the outcome, even some of the diehard Land Rover skeptics. This very first prototype used the Buick V8 adapted by Rover, along with Land Rover part time four wheel drive gearboxes and axles with drum brakes.

It worked, but the engineering knew something wasn’t quite right. Behind the euphoria, we realized that the steering and handling of the vehicle, particular on road, was not what it should be.  The geometry of the front suspension was creating so called bump steer and steering kick. The build of number two prototype would have to be delayed while some design changes were made. But that’s another story.

No comments:

Post a Comment