Update: The Land Rover stream experienced technical difficulties when it was supposed to be live. It was published on the brand’s YouTube channel as a full-length video. You can watch it below.
Land Rover has announced that April 30, 2018, is World Land Rover Day, marking 70 years since its debut at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show.
To celebrate the occasion, a live stream will be on Land Rover’s YouTube channel (and also embedded here) at 3pm EST, which will feature all of the influential people who helped the Land Rover brand come to life, spanning the years from the original Defender to the modern Discovery.
With a brand new Defender on the way, we wouldn’t be surprised if Land Rover also takes this opportunity to tease us with the new off-road machine, or if we’re lucky, the brand will fully reveal it.
READ MORE: A Land Rover Defender Pickup Truck Could Arrive by 2020
World Land Rover day was announced in a dramatic way as well. Stretching more than 820 feet across, an outline of a Land Rover Defender has been created in the most remote location yet; drawn in snow on the side of a mountain in the French Alps to celebrate the Land Rover brand’s 70th anniversary. To produce the high-altitude Defender, snow artist Simon Beck walked 20,894 steps and 10.2 miles (16.5km) through the French Alps.
Drawing an outline of a Defender is not without precedent. The whole exercise is a tribute to the Wilks brothers’ first sketch of the original Land Rover shape, carved in the sand of Red Wharf Bay, Anglesey, UK. The most surprising detail there is that there was enough sand in the UK in which to draw the original Land Rover. Anyway.
READ MORE: Land Rover Experience Centers Teach Owners to Trust Their SUVs
“Land Rover is an iconic brand around the world and the outline of the Defender is instantly recognizable,” said Jaguar Land Rover CEO, Prof. Dr. Ralf Speth. “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 honors the people behind the world’s favorite SUVs.”
While 2018 marks the 70th anniversary of Land Rover globally, the U.S. market celebrated the brand’s 30th anniversary in that country in 2017 with record annual sales of 74,739 units. That year’s addition of the all-new Land Rover Discovery and Range Rover Velar to the brand’s product portfolio surely helped those numbers.
A few of the company’s greatest creations will also be on display today at the brand’s HQ, including HUE, the first prototype Land Rover. The original two-door Range Rover and the seven-seater Discovery will be on hand, along with expedition-proven models from across the decades. The current range, including the Evoque and Velar, will also be on screen as Land Rover celebrates its lifelong status as a favourite among celebrities, politicians and royalty.
Hey, if it’s good enough for the Queen, it’s good enough for us. The U.S. market will be celebrating World Land Rover Day at its new 12-acre headquarter campus in Mahwah, New Jersey.
You can watch the massive snow outline come together in a video below, along with a new 70th anniversary commercial from the brand.