In case you hadn't noticed, it's the 50th birthday of the Range Rover, and Land Rover is - of course - creating a special edition of the current model to celebrate the birthday.
Changed the motoring world
The original Range Rover changed the motoring world, utterly, when it was launched in 1970. Although Jeep had previously thought to put luxury and off-roading together in the Wagoneer, the Range Rover was the first truly successful melding of these two previously opposite poles.
With that original birth date in mind, Land Rover will make just 1,970 Range Rover 50s to mark the big 5-0. Starting with a current Range Rover Autobiography model, the 50 gets exterior highlights finished in Auric Atlas, and there is a choice of two unique 22-inch alloy wheel designs.
Special 'Fifty' script and original paints
The badge includes a special 'Fifty' script, the font for which was created by Land Rover's chief designer, Gerry McGovern. That logo will appear throughout the cabin as well, on the headrests, the dashboard, the tread plates, and on the 'One of 1,970' plaque mounted on the centre console.
Mostly, the Range Rover 50 will be available in three of the existing Land Rover paint options; Carpathian Grey, Rosello Red, Aruba, and Santorini Black. However, for a lucky few, there ill be some made in special colours, recreated from the original 1970 Range Rover colour palette; Tuscan Blue, Bahama Gold and Davos White.
All of the current petrol, diesel, and P400e plug-in hybrid will be available.
'Peerless and enduring'
Gerry McGovern, Land Rover Chief Creative Officer, said: "In the world of luxury vehicles, the Range Rover has always stood apart as peerless and enduring. Its unique and pioneering sensibilities together with an unrivalled engineering approach have been the intrinsic values which our customers have admired since the first of the breed was revealed in 1970."
The Range Rover has come a long way from that 1970 original. The first Rangie was a relatively simple machine, with an all-aluminium body, vinyl seats (so that the cabin could be hosed out) and a boot specifically shaped and sized to be able to carry a standard bale of hay. It was still supposed to be a farmer's tool, working hard down the field all week, but able to be washed and scrubbed up and driven to social events at the weekend. That combo of long-travel springs, the torquey 3.5-litre V8, and the practicality and comfort on offer were an instant hit, and bit by bit the Range Rover began to evolve into a luxury vehicle. It was the first car ever to be displayed at the Louvre Museum as an 'exemplary work of industrial design' in 1971.
Wonder what the next 50 years will bring for the classic name?