British car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover has gone back to the place where it all began to start a year-long celebration of the iconic Land Rover Defender, by creating a unique 1 km sand drawing at Red Wharf Bay in Anglesey, UK, and launching three exclusive limited edition models.

To mark the announcement Land Rover has created the largest sand drawing ever produced in the UK. A Defender outline measuring a staggering 1km across was drawn on the beach at Red Wharf Bay in Anglesey using a fleet of six Land Rovers.

As UK production of the current Defender enters its final phase, Land Rover will use 2015 to celebrate its global automotive icon.

The unique image is a tribute to the moment in 1947 when the engineering director of Rover, Maurice Wilks, first sketched the shape for the original Land Rover in the sand of Red Wharf Bay and proposed the idea to his brother Spencer, Rover’s managing director.

The Wilks family owned land on the Welsh island and Maurice wanted a versatile vehicle that could double as a light tractor and off-roader. His forward-thinking design was christened the ‘Land Rover’, the outline of which we now recognise as the Defender.

Creating the giant piece of temporary artwork at Red Wharf Bay required a fleet of six Land Rovers, each towing an agricultural 12-foot harrow to draw the unmistakable outline of the Defender in the sand. The vehicles chosen for the race against the Anglesey tides chart the evolution of the Defender from its introduction in 1948 to the present day.

The event witnessed the debut of the Defender Celebration Series; three exciting new limited edition models which each celebrate a different element of Defender’s unique history. The Heritage, Adventure and Autobiography Editions are all powered by Land Rover’s proven 2.2-litre diesel engine.

Nick Rogers, Land Rover vehicle line director, said: “We wanted to mark the end of Defender production at Solihull with a special edition but coming up with a single identity was impossible, so we developed three very different interpretations of the Defender to reflect its strength and breadth of character.”

The exclusive Autobiography Edition promises more performance, luxury and comfort than ever before thanks to its comprehensive equipment list, unique duo-tone paintwork, full Windsor leather upholstery and a power upgrade from 122PS to 150PS.

The Heritage Edition is inspired by early Land Rover models and mixes nostalgic design cues with modern creature comforts. It will be available in global markets and is identified by distinctive Grasmere Green paintwork and a contrasting white roof. A heritage grille and HUE 166 graphics, recalling the registration plate of the first ever pre-production Land Rover nicknamed ‘Huey’.

The new Adventure Edition also arrives in dealerships from August, it will be available in global markets and is aimed at Land Rover customers who relish the great outdoors and embrace the Defender’s ‘go anywhere, do anything’ attitude. It comes fitted with additional underbody protection and Goodyear MT/R tyres to boost the Defender’s already class-leading all-terrain capability, it added. – TradeArabia News Service