Originally, the name Land Rover referred not to a whole company, but to a single civilian all-terrain vehicle launched on April 30, 1948, at the Amsterdam Motor Show. Later, it became the name of several distinct four-wheel drive models, before it began to refer to Land Rover the company, a British manufacturer of sport utility and all-terrain vehicles based in Solihull England.

Land Rover began its life as an internal division of Rover. Since then, it has designed and produced several vehicles under a succession of owners, including British Aerospace, British Leyland, and BMW, before becoming part of the Premier Automotive Group, the luxury-car division of the Ford Motor Company. It's also one of the longest lived and best known maker of rugged SUV's, coming second only to the American Jeep in terms of age.

While Land Rovers are manufactured primarily at the plant in Solihull, near Birmingham England, production of the Freelander has recently been reassigned to the Jaguar factory at Halewood near Liverpool. Additionally, the former BL/Rover Group technical center in Gaydon, Warwickshire houses the company's research and development headquarters.

In addition to being the vehicle of choice for the Camel Trophy as part of a sponsorship deal, Land Rovers have also competed in the Paris Dakar Rally, and it also has its own G4 challenge.

Somewhat ironically, while Land Rover continues to thrive, it's founding company, Rover, collapsed in 2005.