Land Rover has begun a year of celebration, marking the 50thanniversary for the original luxury SUV with a unique snow art installation at its Arjeplog cold weather test facility in Sweden and a visit by the World Heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua.
To kick off a year of celebration marking the golden jubilee of Range Rover, Land Rover has commissioned the creation of a giant piece of sub-zero art at its cold weather test facility in Arjeplog, close to the Arctic circle in Sweden. The 260 m-wide artwork filled the centre of the steering pad at the test track where all future Land Rover models are put through their paces during development.
Renowned snow artist Simon Beck created the 53 092 square metre anniversary logo on the snow-covered lake by walking more than 45 000 steps across the powdery surface inside the steering pad, accompanied by a quartet of the latest Range Rover SV-models.
The luxurious Range Rover family will mark 50 years of pioneering innovation and in June, on the anniversary of the introduction of the two-door Range Rover in 1970. Since then, the Range Rover Sport, Evoque, and Velar have expanded the family into a four-strong luxury SUV line-up. It also saw the establishment of Special Vehicle Operations in 2014., with the SV-family representing the pinnacle of Range Rover development.
Ice driving experience
Arjeplog is also home to the Jaguar Land Rover Ice Academy, where customers experience the thrill of dynamic ice driving, under careful instruction from world-class driving experts. As part of the celebrations, world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua experienced the extreme conditions, learning the art of winter driving in his personalised SVAutobiography under expert supervision.
Joshua said he was looking forward to June when the 50thanniversary of one of the finest exports of Britain will be officially celebrated and noted that nothing can match the combination of comfort and capability of the Range Rover. “I guess that is what you get after five decades of experience,” he added.
The original four-wheel-drive model introduced anti-lock brakes, electronic traction control, and automatic electronic air suspension to the luxury SUV genre, while the 2012 Range Rover pioneered aluminium body architecture in large SUVs. In 2015 the Range Rover was the first vehicle to be fitted with the innovative All-Terrain Progress Control system – now available across the Land Rover line-up.
The team of skilled engineers and designers at Land Rover SV have applied their expertise to a succession of Range Rover models and four examples were available in Arjeplog for Joshua to try out as he learned to circle the slippery 260 m-diameter steering pad.
He negotiated the various ice tracks carved into the frozen lake with a Range Rover SVAutobiography, the long-wheelbase pinnacle of the family now also available with Plug-in Hybrid Electric (PHEV) powertrain; the standard wheelbase SVAutobiography Dynamic; the Range Rover Sport SVR, the biggest selling SV model to date and the fastest and most dynamic Range Rover ever produced; and the Velar SVA Dynamic, the 2018 World Car Design of the Year.
The refined, elegant and luxurious 4×4 family also includes the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Velar, and Range Rover Evoque models. Watch the film here: https://youtu.be/-k4mkhK-6dU. All SV vehicles are available to order through Land Rover Retailers, including a growing number of designated SV Specialist Centres. For more information visitwww.landrover.com/svo.
Text: Supplied/Ferdi de Vos | Images: Jaguar Land Rover UK
