Since JLR began producing the Discovery Sport range at Halewood in 2014 more than 350,000 vehicles have been sold across the world – the fast-selling Land Rover model ever. Tony McDonough reports
Jaguar Land Rover’s Merseyside-produced Discovery Sport model is the fastest-selling Land Rover ever – and to celebrate the company is launching a special edition model.
Since JLR began producing the Discovery Sport range at Halewood in 2014 more than 350,000 vehicles have been sold across the world. There were 126,078 sales in 2017 alone which is the best single-model annual sales in Land Rover’s 70-year history.
Now the new Landmark model will help mark the brand’s 70th anniversary and will be made available with either the Td4 180PS diesel or Si4 240PS petrol 2.0-litre Ingenium engine.
It will be built exclusively at the JLR plant in Halewood, which employs more than 4,000 people and also assembles the popular Land Rover Evoque model.
It is a piece of good news for the factory which in January saw a temporary cut in production from three shifts to two amid falling demand for new cars in the UK and mainland Europe.
Finbar McFall, global product marketing director at JLR, said: “The Discovery Sport is loved by customers because it demonstrates the breadth of Land Rover’s ability, offering unrivalled all-terrain capability with the versatility for up to seven people and a premium interior.”
The first model to be built on Land Rover’s 70th birthday on April 30 was a Discovery Sport at Halewood. This vehicle will be used to support a number of projects in 2018, starting with a community resilience project in Scotland which will be announced in June.
The Discovery Sport Landmark is available in three colours: Narvik Black, Corris Grey and Yulong White, all crowned with a Carpathian Grey contrast roof.
It features a sporty and dynamic front bumper, with Graphite Atlas exterior accents and 19in Style 521 ‘Mantis’ wheels in Gloss Dark Grey. The interior features Ebony grained leather seats and an Ebony headliner, complemented by dark grey aluminium finishers around the centre stack.lerator.