I have a whole bunch of Land Rover related sites in my bookmark list, and i thought it was time i shared them for any of the sites visitors that are interested in, or currently utilise, the best brand of off-road vehicle on the market.

I’ve also added in a few of my favourite Land Rover videos from YouTube as well :)

Land Rover Official Sites

• Land Rover Worldwide
• Land Rover Australia
• Land Rover G4 Challenge
• Go Beyond
• Go Beyond TV
• Land Rover Online Merchandise Store -Australia
• Land Rover Online Merchandise Store – International

Land Rover 60th Birthday Video

Land Rover Clubs of Australia

• Land Rover Owners Club of Victoria (1963)
• Land Rover Owners Club Sydney (1966)
• Land Rover Owners Club of Western Australia (1968)
• Land Rover Club of the Australian Capital Territory (1960′s)
• Land Rover Owners Club of Brisbane (1986)
• Land Rover Heritage Society of South Australia (2002)
• Gold Coast Land Rover Owner’s (2005)

Australian Forums

• Australian Land Rover Owners Forum
• d2au

Other forums and sites

• DiscoWeb
• The D-90 Source
• The Registry of Ex Military Land Rovers
• Solihull Society
• Lloyd Allison’s Land Rover website
• Series 1, 2 and 3

Go Beyond

Land Rover Books & Magazines

• Land Rover books at Pit Stop
• LRO Magazine
• Land Rover Enthusiast

Expedition Equipment & Vehicles

• ARB
• Safari Snorkel’s
• Milford Cargo Barrier’s
• GME Radio Unit’s
• Cooper Tires
• 4wd Warehouse
• Nene Overland
• Rooftent

Camel Trophy

From the email i received:

CHALLENGE OFFERS EXCITING NEW ONLINE EXPERIENCE
The Land Rover G4 Challenge website has launched a range of unique new features offering a fascinating insight for those keen to learn more about adventure.

New videos, photo galleries and latest updates are now online along with the first in a series of unique innovative multimedia guides.

These “Challenge Guides” offer an insight into individual aspects of adventure – from kayaking to campsite cuisine – through the stories of former competitors’ and the opinions of experts in video, images and text.

Of course…in Australia we will only be receiving the Defender 110 SVX model (the one at the bottom of the image above), as for some bizarre reason the really cool short wheelbase Defender 90 model was only available though Australian Land Rover dealers for a very limited time a few years ago.

None the less…the Land Rover Defender SVX is a pretty cool looking vehicle in either its 110 or 90 format, and at AUD$62,990 RRP it’s a pretty good deal when you compare it against what you get for the same price in a Land Cruiser or other “serious” 4WD vehicles.

Below are the specs for the Land Rover Defender 100 SVX…

Exterior Features:

• 16″ Alloy wheels with bright finish centre caps with silver logo
• Satin Black finish for intake covers and heater covers
• Body Coloured Wheel Arches
• Titan Bonnet Badging
• Front Grille and Headlamp Surround
• Front Undershield
• Side Steps
• Rear LED Bulbs (includes reverse and fog lamps)
• Santorini Black Metallic Paint
• SVX Metallic Badge
• Metallic Rear Defender Badge & Silver Land Rover Roundels
• Locking Wheel Nuts
• Body Coloured Roof
• Heated Rear Window and Wash Wipe
• Front and Rear Mudflaps
• Rear Folding Step
• Rear Door Stowage Net
• Sunroof

Interior Features:

• Leather Recaro Front Seats
• Rear Seat Trim to Match Front Seats
• Garmin satellite Navigation and Cradle
• Clarion High Ice Audio System with Upgraded Speakers, Sub Woofer and Amplifier
• iPOD Interface
• Metallic SVX Key Chain
• Numbered Commemorative Plaque
• Machine Aluminum Gear and diff Knobs
• Titan Switch Panel
• Satin Black Body Wrap Decals
• Unique Cubby Box Lid with interior lights
• County Grey Leather/Dune Cloth Trim
• Air Conditioning
• Carpet Floor Mats
• Leather Steering Wheel
• 7 Seats
• Electronic Front Windows
• Remote Central Locking
• Heated Front Windscreen
• Heated Front Seats
• Leather Bound Handbook Cover

Safety & Security Features:

• Anti-lock Braking System
• Electronic Traction Control
• Ventiliated Disc Brakes
• Perimetric Alarm with Immobiliser
• First Aid Kit
• Fire Extinguisher

Hmmm…it would certainly make a great expedition vehicle…if only i didn’t love my 2001 Land Rover Discovery 2 TD5 so much…but then i have always regretted not buying one of the special, and very limited (250 units only), edition Tomb Raider Defenders that they did in late 2001 :(

It’s on again.

Land Rover invite you to register to see if you’re good enough to represent Australia against a total of 36 men and women from 18 countries in the world’s ultimate adventure.

This is the third Land Rover G4 Challenge, and it’s planned to take place over three weeks, in Asia, in 2009.

You will run up mountains, cycle down valleys, kayak rivers, swing from bridges, and of course drive for thousands of miles against the clock, and your rivals.

And you’ll be helping to raise funds for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society. As part of the International Federation partnership, Land Rover will also donate a vehicle to the National Red Cross, or the Red Crescent Society, associated with the winning team at the Challenge Finals.

This is arguably the toughest challenge in the world. Land Rover wouldn’t have it any other way.

Are you up to the challenge? Click here.

2008 Promo Video

Hmmm…as tempting as it sounds (and looks), i imagine i would get out-classed by some 24 year old extreme outdoor adventure junkie….though i’m sure that I could still give him a run for his money ;)

Anyway…the deadline for entries into the Australian National Selections is 5pm EST on July the 15th, 2008.

2006 Land Rover G4 Challenge video (i think)

After completing around 105,000km in the six years since the tyre change, and covering terrain as diverse as beach sand, desert sand, rocks, rivers, seldom used mountain tracks, good (and bad) bitumen and everything in between, and not having had one flat tyre in that time as well, today was the day I finally bit the bullet and got four new Cooper Discoverer Sure Trac (S/T) 245/75R16 tyres installed onto DSCVRY again.

I have no doubt that the new tyres will be just as good and reliable as the old tyres and will without a doubt install Cooper Tyres on any other off-road vehicles I might happen to buy in the future…say for example a Series 1 Land Rover or an old Military Land Rover Defender ;)

I would also probably not hesitate to buy them from the same place I visited today, Stuckey Tyre Service in Brunswick (Victoria). I ordered the tyres early yesterday afternoon, they arrived at lunchtime today, i dropped DSCVRY with them at around 1.30pm and it was ready to pick up at around 4pm for the grand total (including fitting and balancing) of $1,149 or $287.25 a tyre :)

To this day I’ve been more than happy and often surprised by how well DSCVRY has handled a wide variety of off-road expeditions (desert, rock, water and sand) and how comfortable it has been on extremely long drives (over 20 hours in one sitting) on the bitumen as well.

On top of great vehicles, they have always done some pretty interesting ad campaigns as well…and one of my favourites is the “Go Beyond” (YouTube link) ad from a few years ago.

The also created a great Go Beyond website with stories and photos including submissions by users and Go Beyond TV which has a bunch of high quality video including a lot of footage of the 2006 G4 competition. I’m sure they will put up video of the 2007 G4 competition and hopefully some stuff from Land Rovers 60th birthday celebrations from around the world.

NOTE: Check out my photos of the Land Rover stand at the 2002 Sydney Car Show which is the year they started to show the G4 competition vehicles.

Its being jointly organised by the Land Rover Owners Club of Victoria (i need to get around to joining), the Land Rover Owners Club of Sydney (i used to be a member when i was living in Sydney), the Land Rover Club of the ACT and the Range Rover Club of NSW and is of course being sponsored by Land Rover Australia.

The program of events is looking really interesting and even if i can just get there for the Motorkhana Trials driving event and the Grand Parade to take some photos I’ll be pretty happy..though it would also be good to hear one of the speakers, John Ayre (Principal of ULR Motors in Melbourne) who will be talking about his experiences over many years with the Camel Trophy (I have quite a few years of Camel Trophy events on VHS tapes as they haven’t been released on DVD yet).

Its been a while since DSCVRY and I have been out to a Land Rover event so hopefully i can make it to this one :)