Land Rover's snowy celebrations for 70th anniversary

 • Giant 250m wide Defender outline drawn in the snow at 2700m in French Alps
 • Tribute to the Wilks brothers’ first sketch of original Land Rover 
 • Land Rover announces World Land Rover Day
 • Celebration broadcast to pay tribute to original Land Rover

Pretoria – After 70 years of all-terrain adventures and global expeditions, Land Rover has once again taken the Defender to new heights.

Stretching over 250 metres, the most remote Defender outline was imprinted on the side of a mountain in the French Alps. The unique snow art was created to announce World Land Rover Day on 30 April, exactly 70 years since the original Land Rover was first shown to the world at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show.

The unique image is a tribute to the moment when the engineering director of Rover, Maurice Wilks, first sketched the shape for the original Land Rover in the sand of Red Wharf Bay and proposed the idea to his brother Spencer, Rover's managing director. The forward-thinking design was christened the 'Land Rover', the outline of which we now recognise as the Defender.

Watch: Defending the snow

Jaguar Land Rover CEO, Prof Dr Ralf Speth, said: “Land Rover is an iconic brand around the world and the outline of the Defender is instantly recognisable. To reach the landmark of 70 years is truly special and we will mark it with a year of celebrations that represents Land Rover's ‘Above and Beyond’ spirit and honours the people behind the world’s favourite SUVs.”

Land Rover is inviting fans to join the celebrations in a World Land Rover Day online broadcast. It stars the people who helped create the world’s most-loved 4x4s and Land Rover’s pioneering technologies, from its Series Land Rover and Defender origins, to the introduction of the Range Rover in 1970 and Discovery in 1989.

Snow artist Simon Beck, who specialises in creating geometric outlines on foot, braved sub-zero temperatures to start the celebrations by creating the Defender outline 2700m up at La Plagne in the French Alps. 

                                                                          Image: Motorpress

To produce the high-altitude Defender outline, Beck walked 20 894 steps and 16.5km through the French Alps. 

Simon Beck, artist, said:

“Making my snow art requires endurance, accuracy and strength – all attributes shared with the Defender. Its iconic shape is so simple and recognised across the world; this must be the most recognisable piece of art I’ve ever made.”

World Land Rover Day is on 30 April.