Passing of the Father of the Range Rover

First, we mourn over the passing of Japan's most experienced Ring Meister and father of the Lexus LF-A supercar. But in just a span of a few days, we automotive industry lost another towering figure, Charles Spencer "Spen" King, more commonly known as the father of the Range Rover. Two weeks ago, Spen King was riding a bicycle when he collided with a van. He succumbed to his injuries over the weekend. He was 85.

In my mind, among the most notable icons of the British motor industry, the late Sir Alec Issigonis and John Cooper ranked right up the top for creating the Morris Minor / Mini and its souped up cousin - the Mini Cooper. The other would be Sir William Lyons, founder of Jaguar. Spen King was a far more low profile individual but his most notable creation - the Range Rover was just as much of a British icon as the Mini or Jaguar.

One of the little known aspect was that the iconic silhouette of the Range Rover, including its grill and clam shell hood design was not the work of the styling department, but rather it was born out a pragmatic need. It was one of those rare moments in history that things got so right at the first time. To read further, go here.

The Range Rover is this author's favourite SUV. The alternatives from Munich may drive better on the road, but even their makers don't try to sell them as proper SUVs. The ones from Stuttgart look a tad clinical while opposition from Ingolstadt looks spankingly good but just lacks the sort of go-anywhere image. The Land Cruiser 200 might be just as capable and luxurious but it lacks the emotional appeal. Anyway, if I am attempting a drive across Afghanistan or the Sahara I won't bother with the newer Toyota ranges and will bet on a far older / utilitarian but far more reliable Land Cruiser 70 series (which is still on sale in certain parts of the world mind you, Australia and South America for instance). The Range Rover is not as obnoxious as a Hummer, but overflows with good old Queens English, British aristocratic sophistication. It is after all, as they say the best four by four by far.




If these SUVs are people, the Hummer is Arnold the terminator whose surname's spelling I am too lazy to look up. The X5 rich brat who went to military college but would not dare step into a real battle field, the ML-class is the more geeky rich kid who went to military college but would rather be piloting a F-16 than be a sniper on the ground, while the G-wagen is the robotic German soldier ready for his next command, the Q7, erm not too sure what to make of it - mix American-German parentage but trains hard at a gym in China? Land Cruiser 200 is of course United Nations observer, highly capable but would rather not get dirty or even to fire a shot. The Range Rover - may be Her Majesty the Queen but I like to see it as Prince William, highly intelligent, trained in military, fought front line in Afghanistan, equally adapt in the palace of the Queen as well as the battlefield, and a bit mischievous at times.

Other notable achievements by Spen King was the Rover P6, which was a 60s Britain equivalent to Camry in our Asian context. Driven by bankers, some politicians and was just a notch below the Jaguar. He was also responsible for the Rover SD1, one of the best looking mainstream cars of its time. But his great creations has to be viewed in context that Spen King created many of his cars at a time when British Leyland was bogged down with labour unrest, and one could only wonder how much better could things have been. What makes Spen King special was not just about his iconic creations, but the fact that he came out with pretty decent products under extremely difficult financial constraints.

Linked here is an interview with Spen King back in 2002, although to really appreciate the content you must be quite well read with the history surrounding British Leyland and the state of the British motor industry between its prime in the 60s and their fall from grace in the 70s.