• Giant 250m wide Defender outline drawn in the snow at 2,700m in the French Alps to mark Land Rover's 70th anniversary
• Tribute to the Wilks brothers' first sketch of the original Land Rover shape in the sand of Red Wharf Bay, Anglesey, UK
• Land Rover announces World Land Rover Day: 30 April 2018 marks 70 years since its debut at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show
• Celebration broadcast on World Land Rover Day will pay tribute to the original Land Rover, as well as the luxurious Range Rover and versatile Discovery families
• Watch snow artist Simon Beck produce the giant snow drawing HERE

La Plagne, France, 10 April 2018 – After 70 years of all-terrain adventures and global expeditions, Land Rover has once again taken the Defender to new heights.

Stretching over 250 metres, the most remote Defender outline was imprinted on the side of a mountain in the French Alps. The unique snow art was created to announce World Land Rover Day on 30 April, exactly 70 years since the original Land Rover was first shown to the world at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show.

The unique image is a tribute to the moment when the engineering director of Rover, Maurice Wilks, first sketched the shape for the original Land Rover in the sand of Red Wharf Bay and proposed the idea to his brother Spencer, Rover's managing director.  The forward-thinking design was christened the 'Land Rover', the outline of which we now recognise as the Defender.

Jaguar Land Rover CEO, Prof Dr Ralf Speth, said: "Land Rover is an iconic brand around the world and the outline of the Defender is instantly recognisable. To reach the landmark of 70 years is truly special and we will mark it with a year of celebrations that represents Land Rover's 'Above and Beyond' spirit and honours the people behind the world's favourite SUVs."

Land Rover is inviting fans to join the celebrations in a World Land Rover Day online broadcast. It stars the people who helped create the world's most-loved 4x4s and Land Rover's pioneering technologies, from its Series Land Rover and Defender origins, to the introduction of the Range Rover in 1970 and Discovery in 1989.`

Snow artist Simon Beck, who specialises in creating geometric outlines on foot, braved sub-zero temperatures to start the celebrations by creating the Defender outline 2,700m up at La Plagne in the French Alps.

To produce the high-altitude Defender, Beck walked 20,894 steps and 16.5km (10.2 miles) through the French Alps. He said: "Making my snow art requires endurance, accuracy and strength – all attributes shared with the Defender. Its iconic shape is so simple and recognised across the world; this must be the most recognisable piece of art I've ever made."

World Land Rover Day is on 30 April. To watch the broadcast and take part in the celebrations, go to www.youtube.com/landrover at 20.00 BST and use the hashtag #LandRover70Years

ENDS

Editors' notes

About Land Rover
Since 1948 Land Rover has been manufacturing authentic 4x4s that represent true 'breadth of capability' across the model range. Defender, Discovery, Discovery Sport, Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Velar and Range Rover Evoque each define the world's SUV sectors, with 80 per cent of this model range exported to over 100 countries.

In 2015, Land Rover re-created the outline in the sands of Red Wharf Bay, to mark the final year of current Defender production. More information is available here: https://media.landrover.com/en-gb/news/2015/01/land-rover-launches-year-defender-celebrations-giant-1km-sand-drawing-and-trio-limited

70 YEARS OF LAND ROVER

TIMELINE