The 1990s were an unusual period in the history of Land Rover and its engines, defined by chaotic takeovers and expansions to the lineup that proved to be masterstrokes whilst everything seemed to be falling apart around them.
The Land Rover saw multiple new models, including the Discovery and Freelander, which made it a dominant force in an SUV market that was only growing in popularity. However, it also managed to inspire another off-roader from its then-parent company BMW.
In the 1990s, BMW was almost exclusively known for sports saloon cars, particularly the M3 and M5 lines. However, the Bavarian company also knew that if it wanted to compete globally, it needed to broaden its horizons without diluting its “Ultimate Driving Machine” slogan of the era.
In 1994, the solution appeared to have dropped into their lap; a chaotic purchase of the Rover Group from British Aerospace gave them access to the hugely popular Land Rover and Range Rover model lines.
There were serious suggestions about simply selling Discoveries and Range Rover IIs in BMW dealerships.
This was initially the plan as early as 1994, when the new BMW management team decided that the P38A Range Rover was already behind the times and would need a fundamental replacement.
Ultimately, what became the L322 Range Rover would only be released after the sale of Land Rover to Ford, but following a rather abrupt meeting where the idea of combined BMW/Land Rover dealerships was shot down, BMW went ahead with plans to create a sportier on-road 4×4.
The result of this was the BMW X5, a much more car-like SUV than had ever been seen in the market segment. The only cars that were close were the crossover Toyota RAV4 and the bewildering Suzuki X-90.
It was critically acclaimed for its handling on the road, whilst the Land Rover connection gave it features such as hill-descent control and the engine management system when used off-road.
Whilst BMW’s takeover of Rover was seen as a disaster, one positive result was that the Range Rover inspired a revolution in off-road vehicles.