Land Rover and Eastnor - a testing association

History, heritage, invention and engineering innovation. All four of those elements combine with Land Rover and Eastnor. Land Rover launched their first 4x4 in 1948, in 63 years of invention and innovation they have built up a huge range of heritage prototype vehicles and for the last 50 years they have been developed and tested at Eastnor Castle and its 5,200 acre estate in Herefordshire.

Although Land Rover uses other test facilities around the world there is only one Eastnor and a name which is shorthand for the Maranello-of-mud-pluggers where Land Rover has tested, developed and finally approved all its models since 1961.

That was when Land Rover chose Eastnor as an assessment venue to put its Series II models through their paces. Its tough range of terrain with boggy bits, jaw-dropping descents, gearbox-breaking ascents, deep pools, hard rocks, slippery slopes have all combined and been covered by engineers and executives who wanted to know if their models would stand up to anything the world might put under their wheels.

Once a model completed a gruelling round of tests at Eastnor it would be sent for specialist assessment on snow and ice, or in desert conditions with blistering temperatures. But Eastnor is the backbone and back-breaker of the development process which has now been going on for 50 years.

Fast forward to the modern day, and the mud-plugging ability of the newest Evoque can be traced back to Eastnor and the forthcoming new Range Rover due to be unveiled at the end of 2012 has been put through its paces there as well as the planned new generation Defender which is still four years away from the showrooms.

Land Rover engineers Geof Miller and Bill Morris were the first to take a Land Rover for test on the estate – a 129-inch wheelbase prototype. So impressed were they by the terrain Eastnor had to offer, just a few weeks later Land Rover engineers were using the land for testing and assessing development vehicles.

Training for international expeditions has been a feature of Eastnor for over forty years. In the words of Spen King, Range Rover chief programme engineer from 1967 to 1989: “If it can get around the Eastnor estate, it can go anywhere!”

Eastnor played a major role in developing an impressive collection of Land Rover technologies – such as Anti-lock Brakes, Adjustable Air Suspension, Electronic Traction Control, Hill Descent Control and Terrain Response – many of which were world firsts in the 4x4 sector.

During the 1960s, Land Rover’s use of Eastnor grew and grew, with engineers promoting the estate amongst the regional Land Rover Owners clubs of which they were members – primarily the Midlands’ regional club. In 1969 the National Land Rover Owners Club Rally took place on the estate, and Eastnor’s legendary status among enthusiasts across the country was secured.

From 1989 members of the public experienced the Eastnor action, with Land Rover Experience moving their operational base to Eastnor so fans of the brand could book an adventure around the tracks of the 5,200 acre estate close to Ledbury and the M50.

New owners of Land Rovers get a chance to hone their driving skills with tuition from a team of highly qualified Land Rover Experience instructors who know how to get the most out of the particular vehicles and build up the confidence of their owners in the abilities of their vehicles.

This year, about 5,500 Land Rover owners will undergo the Eastnor experience and over half will be from abroad, many from China, where the Land Rover legend is held in the highest regard. To understand Land Rover, the Chinese feel they have to experience Eastnor.

Fifty years on, Eastnor is as popular as ever among Land Rover engineers, dealers, executives and customers and it is still used by the Scouts, the Army and home to deer and now the lesser-spotted new Range Rover.

50 years of Land Rover and Eastnor

Land Rover 129-inch wheelbase pick-up

This was the Land Rover vehicle which started the Eastnor partnership. The prototype was built in 1960 to challenge the Dodge Power Wagon for a Middle East supply service contract and designed to carry 1.5 tonnes of drums.

It was fitted with an 85bhp 2.5-litre 6-cylinder petrol engine with a four speed gearbox, 4x4 traction, three seats in the cab and massive ground clearance. Two of the six prototypes remain after Land Rover was not awarded the contract. Today the two surviving prototypes are still undergoing restoration and are part of the Heritage Collection.

Driving this first Eastnor prototype I got an impression of its abilities and its size due to the high ground clearance and size of the load bed.

It looks like a Land Rover on steroids, its heavy, has a huge turning circle and modest performance but it is a very big piece of motoring history.

CB40 Freelander test mule

As an example of what Land Rover camouflage and Eastnor’s secrecy is all about, the CB40 Freelander was a test mule which was used to develop the first generation Freelander’s brake, traction and hill-descent control technology and it was clothed in an Austin Maestro Van body.

The Canley Building 40, to give it the full prototype title, used the van body because its proportions and weight closely matched that of the intended first generation Freelander panelling. Inside it had four seats and space for the test equipment which varied among the 22 prototypes built and this one is thought to be the only survivor.

It had a K-Series 115bhp, 1.8-litre petrol engine with 4x4 drive. In-house they were known as the Mad Max vans after the film.

Land Rover 100-inch four-door prototype (image 3). Most talk these days concerning hybrids revolve around electric power combined with petrol or diesel engines. Land Rover had another sort of hybrid way back in 1976. The company wizards built a 100-inch wheelbase 4-door hybrid.

This combined a shortened Series II body with the Range Rover chassis to convince the British Leyland Board that coil spring suspension offered greater chassis articulation and ride comfort advantages over the long-in-the-tooth leaf springs used for Land Rovers of that era.

The 130bhp, 3.5-litre, V8 petrol had an impressive turn of speed and excellent engine response but the hybrid’s improved ride comfort is the more surprising aspect of its features, apart from the camouflage styling of course.

Land Rover Series III

As Land Rover and Eastnor celebrate their 50th anniversary of their testing partnership the Land Rover Series III is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. As a very young motoring journalist this was the first Land Rover I drove at Eastnor Castle at its original press launch.

As it happened I lived relatively close to Eastnor and as a boy experienced the delights of camping in the estate’s Deer Park. So going back to Eastnor last week for the 50th anniversary celebrations was like going home. The Series III was in fact an upgrade of the Series IIA, development cash was tight in those days.

There were minimal changes to the exterior design, it showcased vastly improved interiors, including an instrument panel that was placed in front of the driver’s seat position. But it was never a comfortable vehicle and the space for the driver’s arms and legs was very limited.

The fact that this Land Rover became a worldwide workhorse and vehicle of choice for African Safaris was down to its image, versatility and robustness. It also has seen considerable military service.

The Series III upgrades also included synchromesh on all forward gears and featured a plastic front grille, which was previously metal and had been used as a barbeque grill to cook on camp fires! A 30% stronger rear axle was fitted to the long wheel base models.

The 70.5bhp, 2.2-litre diesel engine was unbreakable and ever-lasting but like the vehicle itself, it could be repaired in the remotest parts of the World using the most basic of skills and tools.

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