A brief history of the Land Rover engine
Over the years Land Rover has produced 4-cylinder petrol engines, and 4-cylinder and 5-cylinder diesel engines, but Land Rover has also used various 4-cylinder, V8 engines and V6 engines developed by other companies.
Initially the Land Rover/Range Rover engines used were modified versions of standard Rover car petrol engines, but the need for dedicated in-house units was quickly realised. The first engine in the series was the 2-litre diesel of 1957, and this design was improved, expanded and modified over several versions, culminating in the 300Tdi of 1994, which ceased production in 2006. Over 1.2 million engines in the series have been built.
From 1998 the Td5 engine was fitted to Land Rover products. Whilst this 5-cylinder turbodiesel was unrelated in any way to the 4-cylinder designs and was originally intended for use in both Rover Cars and Land Rover 4x4s it only reached production in its Land Rover form. It was produced between 1998 and 2007, and 310,000 Td5s were built.
Production of these engines originally took place at Rover’s satellite factory at Acocks Green in Birmingham whilst vehicle assembly took place at the main Rover works at Solihull. After Land Rover was created as a distinct division with British Leyland in 1979 production of Rover cars at Solihull ceased in 1982.
A new engine assembly line was built in the space vacated by the car lines and engine production started at Solihull in 1983. The engine line at Solihull closed in 2007 when Land Rover began using Ford and Jaguar engines built at diesel engines at Dagenham and petrol Bridgend.
These days Range Rover engines are as reliable as ever; providing an ever-improving ride for people who enjoy the finer things in life.
About the author: Sergio Braston is a writer and fan of Range Rover engines.
Processing your request, Please wait....
