Land Rover Showcases 70 Years of Innovation at London Design Museum

Land Rover is celebrating the company’s 70th anniversary by showcasing 70 years of innovation at the London Design Museum.

For the Material Innovation installation, the atrium seating at the London museum has been completely re-upholstered with 18 original materials that were used in Land Rovers in the years from 1948 to 2018. These materials include the original fabric from the first Land Rover (1948), the cloth that Land Rover designed in collaboration with Sir Paul Smith for his special edition Land Rover Defender (2015) and a unique, sustainable textile material which was developed as a high-end alternative for leather by Kvadrat and was used in the new Range Rover Velar (2017).

Visitors to the museum get a chance to touch and feel and thus experience the different qualities of these authentic fabrics, something they do not generally get a chance to do at museums as most exhibits come with a hands off warning. In fact, visitors will actually be encourage to touch and feel the materials.

Commenting on the installation, Deyan Sudjic, Director of the Design Museum, said that Land Rover is truly a great design success story. According to Sudjic, the installation will provide visitors with an opportunity to experience how textiles have evolved over the years in the context of vehicle design.

Gerry McGovern, Land Rover Chief Design Officer, said that Land Rover rigorously tests its materials and fabrics to meet the exacting standards of its customers. The installation at the London Design Museum reflects the history of the seating used in Land Rover models from cloth to leather and will also includes the company’s latest technical materials from Kvadrat in the new Range Rover Velar.

Here is the list of exhibits:

1948 – Land Rover Series I – (Check Vinyl)

1958 – Land Rover Series II (RAF Blue Vinyl)

1971 – Land Rover Series III (Elephant Hide Grey Vinyl)
1989 – Discovery (Discovery Blue Cloth)

1990 – Defender (Black Rack Cloth)

2013 – Range Rover Sport (Windsor Pimento Leather)

2015 – Defender Paul Smith Edition (Paul Smith Cloth)

2017 – Range Rover Velar (Kvadrat)

2018 – Range Rover SV Coupé (Semi-aniline Navy Blue Leather)