Body
Like other Land Rover vehicles, most of the Range Rover's bodywork skin is constructed from lightweight aluminium, save for the two-section rear tailgate, and the bonnet on all but the earliest models. Apart from minor cosmetic changes, the body design changed very little in its first decade. However, whilst utility Land Rovers had body panels rolled from a single sheet of aluminium, the Range Rover used aluminium panels hung on a steel 'safety frame' (a method pioneered with great success on the Rover P6 saloon). This allowed the bodywork of the Range Rover to carry much greater structural strength via the steel frame whilst retaining the corrosion-resistant and easily repaired aluminium outer panels. Whilst the steel frame was designed by the engineering team, it was expected that Rover's stylist David Bache would provide a design for the outer panels for use on the production vehicles. For the prototypes the engineers designed their own functional body panels simply to protect the occupants and to allow the vehicles to be driven legally on the road. However the clean, square-cut and functional design of the prototype was deemed so good that Bache only altered the detailing, such as providing a different front grille and headlamp design.
One of the first significant changes came in 1981, with the introduction of a four-door body. Until then, Range Rovers only had two doors, making access to the rear seats rather awkward. These doors were also very large and heavy. Several companies offered conversions to four doors in the late 1970s. One by these companies, Monteverdi, was approved for warranty purposes by Land Rover and was closely followed when the company then produced its own development. The four-door version was received well by the public; its popularity being such that the two-door was discontinued in the United Kingdom in 1984, although the two-door continued to be produced to the end, mainly for the French market.
The first major push upmarket was in 1984 which saw the availability of leather trim and automatic transmission, this was followed in the 1985 model year which saw the instrument pod replaced by a more modern one (adapted from the Austin Maestro), new door cards (using Austin Metro door handles) with walnut inlays.
The front end of the Range Rover was revamped in 1986. This brought a more pedestrian-friendly plastic grille with horizontal slats, and optional front valance with two fog lights. Mirrors were now mounted on the door pillar rather than the doors, the seat base was lowered and door handles were redesigned, making it more difficult for rear passengers but greatly improving the comfort for taller people in the front. Other changes include the windows, tailgate and bonnet but none of those affected the general design. Bonnet and door hinges gradually evolved out of sight and the fuel filler cap was hidden behind a hinged flap.
Read more about this topic: Range Rover Classic
Famous quotes containing the word body:
“There is not one kind of food for all men. You must and you will feed those faculties which you exercise. The laborer whose body is weary does not require the same food with the scholar whose brain is weary.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Our purses shall be proud, our garments poor,
For ‘tis the mind that makes the body rich,
And as the sun breaks through the darkest clouds,
So honor peereth in the meanest habit.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“There is joy
in all:
in the hair I brush each morning,
in the Cannon towel, newly washed,
that I rub my body with each morning....”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)