E1261 - Best Of 2025: Land Rover's Rugged Beginnings

Arion's favourite episode of 2025 was “Land Rover's Rugged Beginnings” A British motoring icon made its debut at the Amsterdam Motor Show on 30th April, 1948: the Land Rover. The UK’s first off-road vehicle (that wasn’t a tractor!) had been sketched in sand by its creator, Maurice Wilks. 

Heavily inspired by the American Willys Jeep, the first Land Rovers were simple, no-frills workhorses with no roof, no heater, and barely any doors — just half-height flaps to keep you from falling out. And at £450, they were priced for farmers, not aristocrats.

But the car soon caught on, with eve...