Land Rover introduces ‘50 years of Velar: The Range Rover Story’ tour

Land Rover has launched a new visitor attraction at their Solihull manufacturing plant called “The Range Rover Story’.

To celebrate 50 years of the the Velar, Land Rover has introduced a guided tour at its manufacturing facility in Solihull. The tour is called the ’50 years of the Velar: The story of the Range Rover”. The programme takes visitors through an interactive exhibit showcasing  the design and engineering story of the Range Rover which started with the 1967 Velar Prototype.

Land Rover has been manufacturing Range Rovers in Solihull since 1970, but the history of the development of the vehicles dates back to the Velar prototype from the mid 60s. The exhibit takes visitors through the history of the entire development of the Range Rover, and the introduction of the Range Rover Sport and the Range Rover Evoque. The presentation culminates with the unveil of the brand new Range Rover Velar.

The Range Rover Story is the the second visitor attraction to open at the Solihull manufacturing facility after the Defender Celebration exhibit which saw 11,000 visitors in 2015. Visitors can also book a manufacturing tour and off-road experience at Solihull’s Land Rover Experience Centre as well in conjunction to the Range Rover Story tour.

Roger Crathorne, who has dedicated 50 years’ service to Land Rover and has been heavily involved in the creation of the exhibition, said: “The exhibit tells the incredible story of the Range Rover, from the original Velar prototype through to today’s new model. At the time I began my career in 1967 as a Technical Assistant on the Velar Team, the intention was never to build a luxury vehicle. Over the 50 years since, the Range Rover has come a long way. We wanted to develop a more comfortable on-road Land Rover that would combine the comfort of the Rover with the Land Rover 4x4 capability to support a growing leisure market.”

The Velar is the third model that has been introduced in a year after the Jaguar F-Pace and the new Land Rover Discovery. Land Rover produces the Velar at the largest aluminium body shops in the world, a production line which is capable of producing three different SUVs.

Land Rover now employs more than 10,000 employees in the supply chain at their Soluhill facility which has seen £2 billion (~Rs. 16,198 crore) in recent years and is now Britain’s largest car manufacturer. The Range Rover family alone contributes to £10 billion (~ Rs. 80,991 crore) annually to the UK economy and is also Britain’s largest luxury export.