Burgess first had the idea back in 1992 for his “Cape to Cape” expedition (http://capetocape.org.uk/) where the adventurer was in South Africa and wanted to be in South America. After looking at a map he realized the only challenging body of water to cross was the Bering Strait between Siberia and Alaska. A bit of a trip from The Cape of Good Hope to Cape Horn - We catch up with their voyage on the cusp of Siberia in their retrofitted Defender.

Prowling through the Russian tundra is probably the easiest feat Cape to Cape’s Land Rover had to face during this journey, a real issue arouse when the vehicle and team made it to the Strait - forcing them to not only cross a car over water, but freezing cold water with ice chunks to boot. We wonder if there was some sort of border crossing procedure which took place when the truck left land in Russia or when it surfaced on United States territory.

Once the expedition reached land’s end on the Asian continent it was time to make this Land Rover waterproof. With the addition of an extra drive shaft to power a propeller, twin floats were attached to each side of the vehicle - with a combined volume of 1480 gallons and the ability to keep almost 6 tons of buoyancy. After being stripped of non-essential equipment (hopefully not seats or heat) its two-man crew, weighing three tons, successfully crossed the Bering Strait - after stopping mid way on the tiny island of Little Diomede for 30 days to avoid a number of obstacles related to both weather and native.

Aside from heavy storms accompanied by strong winds the tiny amount of island residents (population 140) were apathetic towards providing a safety boat, causing the entire trip to stop for an indeterminate amount of time. Burgess ended up flying to Alaska by himself, then back to the UK to raise money to purchase a safety boat and continue on.

The wait was worth all Cape to Cape’s trouble. The first week of August between Russia and Alaska brought gorgeous weather and an easy trek across the sea. Land Rover’s floating Cape to Cape Defender made it across in just under 19 hours. Burgess said it himself: “To be the first team to cross the Bering Strait in a motor vehicle was a fantastic feeling.”

All that’s left is for the team to head down the west coasts of North & South America - and on to Cape Horn, a task that will begin this winter when Burgess returns from checking up on his farm. The man needs to eat, after all.

Needless to day the Rover name has become synonymous with extreme off-roading adventures. You can take your Range Rover through the deepest jungles of Africa, or your Freelander through Death Valley. Your Land Rover will take on all seasons and all forms of weather. Much like the Postal Service - “Neither rain nor sleet.” Below are just a few examples of how bad ass a Rover can be.

Is it cold out here? Must be our imagination.

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

This is still the quickest way to Shop Rite

A little to the left…no, my left.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

This looks like a great place to park. Don’t forget to hit the emergency brake.

Land Rover’s Managing Director Phil Popham believes; “The LRX concept delivers the powerful message that we are as serious about sustainability as we are confident about the continuing relevance and desirability of our vehicles.”

LRX’s exterior design is bulky but more aerodynamic than any previous Rover vehicle. Inside, you have a smaller yet roomy sitting space, and a consul which seems like it causes the ship automobile to take off if you activate the correct sequence of buttons.

Expect to see the LRX concept not as out there when it comes to design once it hits the dealership, but you can rest assured this new Land Rover will help the truck giant survive in a changing environment (literally).

Be sure to take a look at Landroverpedia’s LRX Concept Video.

This street legal form of a high-powered, two-doored, desert-combing Land Rover concept was originally brought to the Middle East thanks to a (polite?) suggestion of the Dubai royal family. West Coast Customs is figuring their Ranger-Rover-on-crack concept will do so well that their Dubai facility is pumping out a few more, ranging (no pun intended) from $500,000 to $1.6 million US.

Perhaps Star Wars fans will find similarities between this vehicle and Dodge’s Avenger Storm Trooper concept…or maybe it’s just the word “Storm” accompanied by a white on black paint scheme. Thanks to Jalopnik & AutoTrade Dubai for the original story.

Land Rover Defender

The Defender during combat patrol

Many of the Rovers showing up are Defenders - an estimated 70-80% of Defenders are still in use to this day. It proves the staying power of these magnificent machines.

The first Land Rover came off its assembly line in 1948 (pictured above) called the Hue or Huey.

This Land Rover appears to be doing a Ghostbusters’ Ecto-1 inpression

The Range Rover has become one of the most popular civilian Rover models when it comes to sales. Though the original Land Rovers were built for military purposes, and due to rationing were constructed with aluminum instead of steel, along with other materials left over from airplane factories.

The non-military Range Rover

Based off the Land Rover’s LR3 SUV platform, the Range Rover Sport is designed more for on-the-road, but its off-road capabilities won’t go unnoticed. Its refined road manners powered by an extreme V8 engine assist in this SUV’s mountain-trail-tackling technologies. (more…)