70 Years of Land Rover Material Innovation at the London Design Museum
Land Rover and the London Design Museum are inviting visitors to take a seat to commemorate 70 years of the Land Rover brand.
The atrium seating at the London museum has been re-upholstered with 18 original materials used in Land Rovers from 1948 to 2018 for the Material Innovation installation.
They include the original fabric from the first Land Rover (1948), the cloth designed with Sir Paul Smith for his special edition Land Rover Defender (2015) and an innovative, sustainable textile developed by Kvadrat for the Range Rover Velar (2017) as a premium alternative to leather.
Visitors are invited to discover and experience the different qualities of these authentic fabrics – a change from the usual ‘don’t touch’ rule at museums.
Deyan Sudjic, Director of the Design Museum, said:
“The Land Rover is one of the great design success stories. This installation is a great opportunity for our visitors to see seven decades of new thinking about textiles in the context of vehicle design. And this is one part of the museum where we are definitely saying please touch.”
Gerry McGovern, Land Rover Chief Design Officer, said:
“Land Rover materials and fabrics are rigorously tested to meet the exacting standards of our customers. This installation reflects the history of our seating from cloth to leather and includes our latest technical materials from Kvadrat in the new Range Rover Velar.”
About Jaguar Land Rover
Jaguar Land Rover is the UK’s largest automotive manufacturer, built around two iconic British car brands: Land Rover, the world’s leading manufacturer of premium all-wheel-drive vehicles; and Jaguar, one of the world’s premier luxury sports sedans and sports car marques.
We employ more than 44,000 people globally and support around 240,000 more through our retailer network, suppliers and local businesses. Manufacturing is centred in the UK, with additional plants in China, Brazil, Austria and Slovakia.
At Jaguar Land Rover, we are driven by a desire to deliver class-leading vehicles, which will provide experiences our customers will love, for life. Our products are in demand around the globe. In 2017 Jaguar Land Rover sold 621,109 vehicles in 130 countries, with more than 80 per cent of our vehicles being sold abroad.
Our innovation is continuous: we will spend in the region of £4.5 billion (R82-billion) this year on new product creation and capital expenditure.
From 2020 all new Jaguar Land Rover vehicles will be electrified, giving our customers even more choice. We will introduce a portfolio of electrified products across our model range, embracing fully electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles as well as continuing to offer ultra-clean petrol and diesel engines.
About the Design Museum, London
The Design Museum champions design and the impact it has on the world, while introducing you to the incredible people behind it. Design is about innovation, technology, creativity and craftsmanship and influences our lives in more ways than we can imagine.
Recognised as one of the world’s leaders in the field of automotive design, Jaguar Land Rover is proud to partner with the Design Museum and support its vision for everyone to understand the value design.
