The Second World War proved, among other things, the value of a basic 4-wheel drive vehicle of rugged construction. The success of the American Jeep inspired the Wilkes' brothers Maurice and Spencer, who ran the Rover Car Company, that a British version was likely to be well received. Launched in 1948, customers were never in short supply for their creation, the Land Rover, although there were some unexpected owners for such a sparse and utilitarian car, including King George VI and Winston Churchill. Once the British Army embraced it as their vehicle of choice, the Land Rover's place in motoring's Hall of Fame was secured. Since those days, the company has gone on to invent the concept of the luxury 4x4 with the launch of the Range Rover in 1970, and has added further to the distinguished stable with the Discovery and the Freelander. The Land Rover has truly conquered the globe - find out how inside...

Sunday Times Bestseller As quintessentially British as a plate of fish and chips or a British Bulldog, the boxy, utilitarian Land Rover Defender has become an iconic part of what it is to be British.

The Second World War proved, among other things, the value of a basic 4-wheeled drive vehicle of rugged construction. The success of the American Jeep inspired the Wilkes' brothers, Maurice & Spencer, who ran the Rover car company, that a British version was likely to be well received. Launched in 1948, customers were never in short supply for their creation, the Land Rover, although there were some unexpected owners for such a sparse and utilitarian car, incuding King George VI and Winston Churchill. Once the British army embraced it as their vehicle of choice, the Land Rover's place in motoring's hall of fame was secured. Since those days, the company has gone on to invent the concept of the luxury 4 x 4 with the launch of the Range Rover in 1970 and has added further to the distinguished stable with the Discovery and the Freelander and in recent years the Vogue model of the Range Rover.

Why Not? After all, no-one had ever done it before. It would be one of the longest of all overland journeys – half way round the world, from the English Channel to Singapore. They knew that several expeditions had already tried it. Some had got as far as the desrts of Persia; a few had even reached the plains of India. But no one had managed to go on from there: over the jungle clad mountains of Assam and across northern Burma to Thailand and Malaya. Over the last 3,000 miles it seemed there were ‘just too many rivers and too few roads'. But no-one really knew … In fact, their problems began much earlier than that. As mere undergraduates, they had no money, no cars, nothing. But with a cool audacity, which was to become characteristic, they set to work – wheedling and cajoling. First, they coaxed the BBC to come up with some film for a possible TV series. They then gently persuaded the manufacturers to lend them two factory-fresh Land Rovers. A publisher was even sweet-talked into giving them an advance on a book. By the time they were ready to go, their sponsors (more than 80 of them) ranged from whiskey distillers to the makers of collapsible buckets. In late 1955, they set off. Seven months and 12,000 miles later, two very weary Land Rovers, escorted by police outriders, rolled into Singapore – to flash bulbs and champagne. Now, fifty years on, their book, ‘First Overland', is republished – with a foreword by Sir David Attenborough. After all, it was he who gave them that film.

The second generation Range Rover was arguably Land Rover's first model designed as a luxury vehicle. It was a major leap for the company, but a very successful one as well. Despite controversy over its looks, and some initial teething problems, it became a worthy successor to the much-loved original. Range Rover Second Generation The Complete Story draws on the memories of designers and engineers as well as on a wide variety of factory sources to provide the most authoritative history of the mode yet. The book covers the full development history; the changes during eight years of production; Range Rovers for the North American market; full technical specifications and finally Range Rovers and the emergency services.A companion volume to the author's Range Rover First Generation - The Complete Story (Crowood 2018).

The rover Curiosity introduces itself to readers, describing how it went from idea to creation and beyond.