A little over seventy years ago, in the summer of 1947, Maurice and Spencer Wilks sketched the outline of a new utility vehicle on the beach near the family estate at Red Wharf Bay, Anglesey, Wales. It set in motion the development of the Land Rover, an instant global icon, which is celebrating the 70^th anniversary of its launch on April 30, 2018, in what has been dubbed “World Land Rover Day.”

Many Land Rover owners are guilty of letting their underage children drive their vehicles. Maybe they sat on your lap steering while you manipulated the pedals of your Range Rover, or maybe you let them take the Discovery for a solo run up and down the driveway. The more daring among us may have even let their kids drive on a remote public road, or on an off-road trail.

Though these offenses rarely cause any public harm, certain people in the public eye are a little more susceptible to criticism for allowing their children to skirt the law so brazenly.

This is even truer when your family technically makes the laws in the first place, as young British Royal Family member James, Viscount Severn has found out.

Dear Readers,

As of this week, I will no longer be writing the weekly Roverlog entries. Taking my place is a fine upstanding young man named Greg Fitzgerald. Greg hails from New Jersey, where he is deeply involved in the Land Rover enthusiast community. These days it is hard to attend a Land Rover event on the East Coast of the US without seeing him. He's always ready for a road or off-road trip, and fully embodies the independent spirit that defines Land Rovers and their dedicated owners.

Revisiting the site of last month's record-setting, death-defying, first-ever vehicular ascent of the "Heaven's Gate" stairs at the top of China's Tianmen Mountain, Land Rover once again proved the mettle of the Range Rover family of vehicles. In the Heaven's Gate stunt, pro Driver Ho-Pin Tung piloted a Range Rover PHEV hybrid up the 99 turns of the Tianmen Mountain road before ascending the 45-degree steps at the top. This time, Tung set a new record, in a Range Rover Sport SVR, for the fastest ascent of the road itself, beating out the previous record set by an Italian-built supercar.

Jim Ratcliffe, the billionaire UK businessman and Land Rover nut who is planning to manufacture a 4x4 to fill the niche vacated when Land Rover stopped building Defenders, says that he is close to choosing the location for the factory where the vehicles will be built. Ratcliffe says that he would like the project to be built in the UK, but that Germany, France, and Belgium are also in the running.

Earlier this week, Jaguar Land Rover North America (JLRNA) announced the opening of a new North American Headquarters in Mahwah, New Jersey. Timed to coincide with the lead-up to the 2018 New York International Auto Show, the opening celebration took place over three days of events, attended by employees, VIP guests, customers, and New Jersey government officials.

Rovers at Wintergreen 2018

39 Mountain Inn Loop, Roseland, VA

April 6-8, 2018

The Rover Owners Association of Virginia (ROAV) is hosting its annual spring rally, Rovers At Wintergreen (RAW), on April 6-8, 2018. The event is located at the Wintergreen Ski Resort located in central Virginia. This location affords access to the comforts of the resort lodging, and miles of wooded trails that range from easy-going and scenic to steep, rocky, and challenging. The local restaurants, breweries, and distilleries provide plenty of options for socializing and fun.

When Land Rover first introduced the Range Rover almost 50 years ago, the concept of a luxury 4x4 was entirely revolutionary. Now, the new Range Rover SV Coupé seeks to define an altogether new class of vehicle: the "full-size luxury SUV coupé." To do that Land Rover started by going back to the Range Rover's roots as a two-door vehicle.

Land Rover announced last week the recall of approximately 7,100 model-year 2018 Range Rover Velar SUVs due to windows that could fog over and stay that way. They blame the problem on air inlet door linkages that can detach in the ventilation systems and prevent the clearing of fog or condensation.

Seem like a familiar sight? You might be a Defender owner

This past Presidents' Day weekend saw Land Rover owners and enthusiasts traveling hundreds, and in some cases, thousands, of miles for the 88s Annual Maine Winter Romp. One of our favorite events, the "Romp," as it is known, continues to grow in popularity every year. It's quite amazing to see how many people show up, given that temperatures can easily dip down to 25 or 30 degrees (F) below zero. This year, however, Winter Romp took place under some of the mildest weather that it has ever seen. Daytime temperatures climbed above freezing, making for some of the most pleasant times on the trails imaginable.

Heading down the powerline hill: Steve Ostrovitz Photo

Only two weeks after revealing plans to release a very limited edition of 150 V8-engined Defenders, JLR announced that the "Defender Works V8" is all sold out. Customers were able to choose from either a 90 or 110 configuration, with the cheapest entry point being the 90 version at only £150,000.

Just a few weeks ago, we learned about one of the earliest, pre-production Land Rovers, a Series One 80-inch that was one of the demonstrator cars Land Rover displayed at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show. It was the debut to the world of what would go on to become arguably the most iconic 4x4 vehicle ever made. Now, another historically significant 80-inch has been revealed. The very first production model, Chassis Number 1, has changed hands recently and is now to be restored.

Land Rover continues pushing to make its products and operation more sustainable. In an increasingly crowded world with growing competition for raw materials, the use of sustainable, renewable products and materials is a win-win proposition for both manufacturers and vehicle owners.

Aside from their strong showing in the burgeoning electric vehicle market, and state of the art scrap reclamation processes, the company has just announced the availability of an optional recycled plastic upholstery for the interiors for new Range Rover Velar vehicles.

Land Rover's latest promotional stunt was also one of its most challenging ones yet, according to the British car maker. To demonstrate the immense torque available from its Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) system, they decided to drive a new PHEV Range Rover Sport up the 999 steps of Hunan Province's Tianmén Shan, or Heaven’s Gate, one of China’s most iconic natural wonders.

Jaguar Land Rover North America has announced two rounds of recalls in recent weeks. The first recall affects a limited number of 2018 model year Range Rover Evoque, Range Rover Velar, and Land Rover Discovery Sport vehicles equipped with a 2.0L gasoline engine. The fuel rail end caps may leak, possibly resulting in fuel vapor or liquid fuel leaking into the engine bay. A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source such as hot engine or exhaust components can increase the risk of a fire.