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Land Rover celebrate 20 years
of Discovery
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Land Rover
16th November, 2009
Launched on 16 November 1989, the Discovery has now enjoyed 20 years of
success which has resulted in over 900,000 units being sold worldwide. It's
most recent accolade is winning the award of Scottish Car of the Year.
Originally launched as a three door junior Range Rover in response to
the Range Rovers move up market, the Discovery is now in its fourth
generation and is sold in 91 countries.
20 facts on Discovery:
1
Discovery has evolved its own clear design heritage over four
generations.
The subtle kick-up in the roofline of the latest Discovery
4/LR4 is a deliberate visual reference to the original Discovery, where a
raised rear roof section was necessary to give enough headroom for
passengers in the rearmost seats.
 2
392,443 first-generation Discoverys were built in nine years, for an average
of 43,604 per year. There were 278,570 Series II models in six years, for an
average of 46,428 per year. Discovery 3/LR3 reached a total of 220,057 in
five years (an average of 44,011 per year) before giving way to the 2010
model-year Discovery 4/LR4.
3
Fuel economy has always been a
target of Discovery’s diesel engines, and a third-generation common-rail
fuel system allows the latest 3.0-litre TDV6 to achieve 9.7 percent better
fuel economy than its smaller-capacity predecessor on the combined EU cycle.
The pioneering direct-injection system used for the TDi engines of the
first-generation Discovery was specifically intended to deliver
class-leading economy, as was the use of Electronic Unit Injectors on the
Series II models’ TD5 diesel engine.
4
The first Discoverys in
1989 were launched as three-door models, the family-oriented five-door
followed in 1990 on the same wheelbase. A three-door Discovery Series II was
built as a full-size mock-up, but customer demand dictated that five-doors
was the way forward so no three-door Series II was ever put into production.
 5
All-round visibility for the driver has always been a pre-requisite on the
Discovery, reinforced by the high-set Command Driving Position. On Discovery
4, the driver’s ability to see every inch of the vehicle when manoeuvring is
aided by no fewer than five miniature cameras. Pictures are transmitted to
the dash-mounted information screen and can function at speeds up to 11mph.
6
The first Discoverys shared their headlights with the Freight Rover
van, and shared their rear lights with the Austin Maestro van. Very early
examples were built with tail-lights carrying the Austin-Rover logo, but the
Land Rover oval soon took pride of place when volume production got under
way.
7
During the development phase of the Discovery 3, a total of
75 prototypes were taken to the four corners of the earth to test the
exceptional breadth of capability of this multi award-winning vehicle,
taking it to extremes of +50 degrees centigrade to a teeth-chattering minus
30 degrees centigrade.
8
The side graphics characteristic of the
original three-door Discoverys were very fashionable in the late 1980s and
are now a distinguishing feature of the early models. The graphics changed
in 1992 but after 1994 the graphics were phased out to reflect a change in
car 'fashion'.
9
Land Rover's spirit of adventure is often
recalled at the mention of the famous Camel Trophies. The competitions of
the 1990s saw the Discovery tackle the so-called 'Olympics of 4x4'.
Specially prepared examples were used as the crew vehicles for the eight
years from 1990 to 1997. Some countries sold special Camel Trophy limited
editions with many still clearly visible on the roads today.
10
In 1993, Land Rover Special Vehicles used the three-door body shell to
create the Discovery Commercial or 'van' derivative. With proven all-round
versatility, there have been Commercial derivatives of the Series II,
Discovery 3 and now Discovery 4 – all based on the standard five-door body.
11
To mark Land Rover's 60th anniversary in 2008, 60 vehicles were
donated to the British Red Cross Society and its sister national societies
around the world. The Discovery 3 was among the 60 vehicles arranged in the
form of the Red Cross flag in the quadrangle of Buckingham Palace for the
official handover on 9th July.
12
Among the options of the first
Discoverys was a shoulder bag trimmed to match the seats of your vehicle
which could be attached to the centre console. These bags now command quite
a high premium with Land Rover enthusiasts.
 13
Since its launch in 2004, Discovery 3 has achieved tremendous global acclaim
with a total of 111 awards! From Russia to Mexico, Discovery is the best
loved SUV the world has ever driven.
14
Discovery 3 and Discovery
4 have electronically controlled all-independent air suspension, which
delivers a superb on-road ride and improves off-road ability, too. The first
two generations of Discovery had beam axles with coil springs – although
self-levelling air springs were fitted to the rear of top-model Series IIs.
15
The longest first-generation Discoverys built at the Land Rover
factory had a 116-inch wheelbase and were designed as fast-response
paramedic ambulances.
16
A Discovery 3 was the four millionth
Land Rover to leave the production lines on 8th May 2007. Donated to one of
Land Rover's key conservation sponsors – the Born Free Foundation – founder
patron Joanna Lumley joined employees to celebrate this milestone and accept
the keys on behalf of the charity. The Discovery was deployed as a 'Rapid
Response Rescue' vehicle.
 17
Between 1994 and 1996, the Discovery was sold in Japan as the Honda
Crossroad. It wore the badges of the Rover Group’s then business partner,
but was otherwise identical to the standard product.
18
Discovery
was the first Land Rover programme to fully utilise CAD technology. The
exterior of the Discovery was fully surfaced in CAD to enable prove out
models and tooling to be created. The interior was created in a wire frame
format in CAD.
19
A light and airy interior has always been a
Discovery trademark. Deep windows and Alpine lights in the roof have been a
constant feature since the beginning, supplemented by glass sunroofs –
optional on early models but now standard on the latest Discovery 4.
20
The original project code name for Discovery was Project Jay. This was
because of the naming policy put in place by Alan Edis to enhance prototype
secrecy – projects were named in alphabetical order, following bird and
animal themes.
LAND ROVER DISCOVERY: HISTORY
1989 Discovery
launched (three-door only)
1990 Discovery five-door on sale
1994
Discovery facelift
1994 Discovery launched in USA
1998 Discovery II
launched
2004 Discovery 3/LR3 unveiled and wins What Car? Car of the
Year
2009 Discovery 4/LR4 launched
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