The Range Rover began life as a motoring milestone and quickly became a motoring icon, writes David Duffy.

To date, more than 460,000 Range Rovers have been built, and the vehicle rates highly among today's most desirable cars. The Range Rover has also spawned countless imitations, and was the catalyst for today's sport-utility vehicle boom.

In the USA alone, 2.5m sport-utility vehicles are sold every year, accounting for roughly one-third of all new car registrations. Yet the Range Rover remains a motoring icon with a rich and enviable past. No other 4x4 has inspired such strong loyalty among its customers, and no other 4x4 vehicle can lay claim to the Range Rover's presence with international sportsmen, celebrities or businessmen.

No other 4x4 offers bespoke luxury versions available under Land Rover's Autobiography scheme. The original Range Rover, announced in June 1970, began life in the mid-1960s as a response to an upsurge of interest in 4x4 vehicles for leisure purposes.

It took the motoring world by storm, for here was a vehicle that was truly multi-purpose; being both a practical load-carrier and a comfortable long-distance express. Demand quickly exceeded supply and for most of the next decade there were waiting lists for new Range Rovers. In the early days, used examples frequently changed hands for more than the initial cost price.

The first half of the 1980s was a period of rapid change. More luxurious interiors appeared for the first time, and a four-door body was added to the line-up. This quickly exceeded the popularity of the original two-door model, and in most countries was effectively standard from the start of 1987.

Automatic transmission, a smoother-changing five-speed manual gearbox, and improved suspension made the Range Rover into a more refined mode of transport than ever before. A diesel engine became optional and at long last, the Range Rover was introduced to the USA.

More powerful petrol and diesel engines, anti-lock brakes, and anti-roll bars to control body movement were added. Next came a sophisticated, computer-controlled, height-adjustable air suspension, which was introduced in tandem with the most luxurious Range Rover yet seen the Vogue LSE.

The final developments of the original Range Rover came in 1994 with the introduction of dual airbags, a first in the sport utility market.

Just a few months later, the New Range Rover made its appearance and the old one was renamed the Range Rover Classic to avoid confusion in markets where both were sold together.

The last original Range Rover was built in 1996, bringing to an end nearly 26 years of continuous production. Today's Range Rover started life as a project at the end of the 1980s, code-named Pegasus, but later re-named 38A.

The engineering brief was to develop a replacement Range Rover for the Classic that would have all the off-road ability of the existing model, a much more car-like behaviour on the road and better build quality.

It was to be a realistic alternative in every respect to established luxury cars. The fact that it would offer more than conventional luxury cars, because of its off-road ability, was an essential part of the marketing strategy. Project 38A became the New Range Rover in September 1994, and since then its annual average sales have consistently outstripped the old Range Rover at its peak.

The vehicle has been acclaimed world-wide as the best of its kind, being voted as the Millionaires' Choice sport-utility vehicle by readers of the Robb Report magazine in June 1997. Today, six years after its introduction, it remains unquestionably the most desirable luxury sport-utility vehicle on the planet.

Key features of the current Range Rover include its sophisticated electronic control system, which monitors all major vehicle systems and can display vital messages to warn the driver of such things as low washer fluid level or a tailgate which has not been fully closed. Height-adjustable Electronic Air Suspension, now further developed from the system introduced in the earlier Range Rover is a standard feature across the range.

As before, the Range Rover's core power units are developments of Land Rover's legendary V8 engine.

Both the 190 horsepower 4.0-litre and the 225 horsepower 4.6-litre are fitted with exhaust catalysts as standard, and since 1999 they have incorporated a new 'Thor' inlet manifold and Bosch management system to improve driveability even further.

For the large number of diesel buyers, the current Range Rover has been provided since the start of production with the refined and powerful BMW six-cylinder turbo-charged and inter-cooled 2.5-litre engine. Limited editions continue to emphasise its exclusivity. Since 1996, the Autobiography custom-building service has been available to buyers of the second-generation vehicles. These include the Holland & Holland, designed in association with the world-renowned manufacturer of sporting guns and clothing.