The Land Rover V8 engine is a great institution, and many a Land Rover enthusiast will have been as excited to be fitting or maintaining one as they are driving the vehicle. But it may come as a surprise to some to learn that the engine was not originally invented for the Land Rover at all.

Indeed, as AR Online notes, the engine did not even have its origins in the UK, but rather across the Atlantic.

While the first Land Rovers had already emerged over here by the late 1950s, in the United States motor manufacturers were seeking ways to build lighter and more efficient engines, with aluminium emerging as a clear alternative to steel.

As this change took place, General Motors developed a V8 engine for its Buick cars, which replaced the old 3528cc engines.

However, while this means the first V8 was an American invention, it didn’t take off there because the powerful steel industry lobby there ensured that the most advanced manufacturing facilities were reserved for steel, which undermined the technical advantages possessed by aluminium. The Buick 215 V8 was soon phased out.

The same did not apply in the UK, where a pressing need to find more powerful engines saw Rover looking in all sorts of directions. Having explored various options, managing director William Martin-Hurst approached General Motors and bought out the rights to the now-discontinued Buick 215 in 1964.

Thankfully, the deal was agreed in such a way that Land Rover would have full ownership of the V8 and thus not have to pay royalties to General Motors.

Now, of course, Land Rover remains one of the biggest names in motoring, while General Motors slipped into bankruptcy in 2009 and needed a Chapter 11 reorganisation.

That is not to say that becoming the world’s main maker of V8 engines would have made all the difference; there are many reasons for GM’s downfall. But even so, it was a sliding doors moment that resonates every time you fit a V8 engine into a Land Rover.