How it all started with the Range Rover Velar!

Range Rover at this site goes back to 1967 when the first secret prototype was conceived, codenamed Velar. The new exhibit allows visitors to follow the cars inception in the mid-1960s, through to the introduction of the Range Rover Sport and Range Rover Evoque. The exhibition ends with an exciting reveal of the new Range Rover Velar, celebrating British design and engineering at its best.

Roger Crathorne dedicated 50 years’ service to Land Rover and has been gratly involved in the design of the exhibition. He commented: “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.”

Nigel Blenkinsop, Operations Director at Solihull also commented: “We are hugely proud to build the Range Rover Velar at Solihull, the birthplace of both the Land Rover and Range Rover. Here, we have invested over £2bn in recent years to enable us to triple production. Our business is now Britain’s number one car manufacturer.”

The Range Rover Velar is the third new model in a year to be launched at the Solihull plant, after the Jaguar F-PACE and new Discovery. The Velar is created in one of the largest aluminium body shops in the world and is finished with dedication in a versatile trim hall; capable of producing three different 4x4s.