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116-594: 5-speed manual (BL LT77) 3-speed automatic ( Chrysler TorqueFlite A727 ) The Range Rover is a 4x4 , mid-size off-road vehicle series produced from 1970 to 1996 – initially by the Rover (later Land Rover ) division of British Leyland , and latterly by the Rover Group . The first generation of vehicles produced under the Range Rover name, it was built as a two-door model for its first 11 years, until

232-574: A Borg Warner chain-driven transfer box incorporating an automatic viscous coupling limited slip differential – earlier transmissions had a manual differential lock (operated by a vacuum servo on the LT95 and mechanically on the LT230). The LT77 had two major design changes: first an upgrade to larger bearings for the layshaft and new ratios around 1988, then a newly designed synchro hub for third and fourth gear and double synchros for first and second. This

348-414: A countershaft (also called a layshaft ) and an output shaft . The input shaft is connected to the engine and spins at engine speed whenever the clutch is engaged. The countershaft has gears of various sizes, which are permanently meshed with the corresponding gear on the input shaft. The gears on the output shaft are also permanently meshed with a corresponding gear on the countershaft; however,

464-546: A car of choice for aristocratic English country house owners. Like other Land Rover vehicles, most of the Range Rover's bodywork skin is constructed from lightweight aluminium, except for the two-section rear upper and lower tailgates, the rear corners adjacent to the tailgate and the bonnet on all but the earliest models. Apart from minor cosmetic changes, the body design changed very little in its first decade. However, while utility Land Rovers had body panels rolled from

580-580: A cheaper interior; a smaller, less powerful, base diesel engine; and only two side doors during its first year – the greatly similar vehicle was marketed at a distinctly lower price point, filling the gap in Land Rover's model range, starting in 1989. In order to give the car at least a differing silhouette from the Range Rover, the Discovery got a stepped, raised rear roof, with a safari rear window cluster. To be able to fit optional third row jump seats,

696-708: A column shifter and more practical, as the gearbox was mounted in front of the engine. The linkage for the shifter could then be positioned on top of the engine. The disadvantage is that shifting is less comfortable and usually slower to operate. Newer small cars and MPVs , like the Suzuki MR Wagon , the Fiat Multipla , the Toyota Matrix , the Pontiac Vibe , the Chrysler RT platform cars,

812-417: A column shifter are the ability to switch between the two most commonly used gears—second and third—without letting go of the steering wheel, and the lack of interference with passenger seating space in vehicles equipped with a bench seat . Some smaller cars in the 1950s and 1960s, such as Citroën 2CV , Renault 4 and early Renault 5 feature a shifter in the dash panel. This was cheaper to manufacture than

928-527: A column-mounted manual shifter. Outside North America, the column-mounted shifter remained in production. All Toyota Crown and Nissan Cedric taxis in Hong Kong had the 4-speed column shift until 1999 when automatic transmissions were first offered. Since the late 1980s or early 1990s, a 5-speed column shifter has been offered in some vans sold in Asia and Europe, such as Toyota Hiace , Mitsubishi L400 and

1044-407: A conventional manual transmission, but are shifted automatically. Alternatively, there are semi-automatic transmissions . These systems are based on the design of, and are technically similar to, a conventional manual transmission. They have a gear shifter which requires the driver's input to manually change gears, but the driver is not required to engage a clutch pedal before changing gear. Instead,

1160-634: A cost of £128,000 (equivalent to £570,000 in 2023). One of the two Range Rovers was taken back to the Vatican, and is still in use as of 2013. The other is now on display at the Cars of the Stars Museum in Las Vegas. Coachbuilders and fabricators such as Carmichael, Gloster Saro, and HBC Angus modified numerous Range Rover vehicles for first response use. British and foreign constabularies utilised

1276-408: A four-door also became available in 1981. The Range Rover then successfully moved upmarket during the 1980s, and remarkably debuted in the U.S. as a 17-year old model at the 1987 Los Angeles Auto Show . Availability of the two-door version was restricted from 1984, but it remained in production for some markets until 1994, when the second generation was launched. From that moment, Land Rover rebranded

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1392-612: A functional estate car-like body. It never made it into production. By the 1960s, Rover was becoming aware of the embryonic development of the sport utility vehicle in North America. Proto SUVs such as the International Scout (1961) and the Ford Bronco (1966) began the skew of 4x4s towards speed and comfort while retaining more than adequate off-road ability for most private users. The Jeep Wagoneer proved

1508-411: A gear while the transmission requires the driver to adjust the throttle so that the transmission is not under load, and selecting a gear requires the engine RPM to be at the exact speed that matches the road speed for the gear being selected). Most motor vehicles use a pedal to operate the clutch; except for motorcycles, which usually have a clutch lever on the left handlebar . In most vehicles with

1624-425: A gearshift without fully disengaging the clutch). Larger differences in speed between the input shaft and the gear require higher friction forces from the synchromesh components, potentially increasing their wear rate. Even in modern transmissions where all of the forward gears are in a constant-mesh configuration, often the reverse gear uses the older sliding-mesh ("crash box") configuration. This means that moving

1740-619: A manual transmission but have added components (such as computer -controlled actuators and sensors ) which automatically control the timing and speed of the gear shifts and clutch; this design is typically called an automated manual transmission (or sometimes a clutchless manual transmission ). Contemporary manual transmissions for cars typically use five or six forward gears ratios and one reverse gear, however, transmissions with between two and seven gears have been produced at times. Transmissions for trucks and other heavy equipment often have between eight and twenty-five gears, in order to keep

1856-438: A manual transmission, the flywheel is attached to the engine's crankshaft , therefore rotating at engine speed. A clutch disc sits between the flywheel and the transmission pressure plate which is attached to the transmission input shaft, controlling whether the transmission is connected to the engine or not. The clutch pedal controls the pressure plate ( clutch engaged – the clutch pedal is not being pressed) or not connected to

1972-421: A manual transmission, the driver selects gears by manipulating a lever called a gear stick (also called a gearshift , gear lever or shifter ). In most automobiles, the gear stick is located on the floor between the driver and front passenger, but some cars have a gear stick that is mounted to the steering column or center console. The movement of the gear stick is transferred (via solid linkages or cables) to

2088-447: A market existed for an off-road capable vehicle with more amenities. In 1949 the Land Rover estate car was released, with a coach-built wood-framed body by Tickford . However, the high price of adding such car-like features as seven seats, floor carpets, a heater, a one-piece windscreen resulted in fewer than 700 being sold before the model was dropped in 1951. In 1954 Land Rover launched a second iteration estate car, this time aimed at

2204-400: A mechanism is needed to stop the input shaft, such as using the synchronizer rings for fifth gear. However, some vehicles do employ a synchromesh system for the reverse gear, thus preventing possible crunching if reverse gear is selected while the input shaft is still spinning. Most transmissions include a lockout mechanism to prevent reverse gear from being accidentally selected while the car

2320-652: A more luxurious model, branded the LSE in the United Kingdom and County LWB (long wheelbase) in the United States, providing expansive rear-passenger legroom absent from the 100-inch wheelbase models. These had a 108-inch (2,743 mm) wheelbase, air suspension and 4.2-litre engines. The 100-inch Range Rover chassis became the basis for the Land Rover Discovery , introduced in 1989. Originally,

2436-473: A single sheet of aluminium, the Range Rover used aluminium panels hung on a steel 'safety frame' (a method pioneered with great success on the Rover P6 saloon). This allowed the bodywork of the Range Rover to carry much greater structural strength with the steel frame while retaining the corrosion-resistant and easily repaired aluminium outer panels. While the steel frame was designed by the engineering team, it

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2552-441: A switch or pressing a button on the gearshift knob or on the steering column, or automatically by momentarily lifting the foot from the accelerator with the vehicle traveling above a certain road speed. Automatic overdrives were disengaged by flooring the accelerator, and a lockout control was provided to enable the driver to disable overdrive and operate the transmission as a normal (non-overdrive) transmission. The term 'overdrive'

2668-484: A synchromesh and teeth on each side in order to lock either gear to the shaft. Unlike some other types of clutches (such as the foot-operated clutch of a manual-transmission car), a dog clutch provides non-slip coupling and is not suited to intentional slipping. In order to provide smooth gearshifts without requiring the driver to manually match the engine revs for each gearshift, most modern passenger car transmissions use 'synchromesh' (also called 'synchronizer rings') on

2784-411: A three-speed manual transmission. This transmission, along with many similar designs that it inspired, was a non-synchronous (also called sliding-mesh ) design where gear changes involved sliding the gears along their shafts so that the desired cogs became meshed. The driver was therefore required to use careful timing and throttle manipulation when shifting, so the gears would be spinning at roughly

2900-516: A time, was also given a revised version of the more modern dashboard from the Discovery Mk1, which was significantly better quality than the original and saved manufacturing the old dash for the runout model. While the Range Rover finally received a clean-sheet redesign after 31 years, in 2001, the Discovery still kept using much of the original Range Rover's underpinnings after a successful 1998 facelift, which made it still longer and larger in

3016-444: A top speed of 95 mph (153 km/h) and acceleration from a standstill to 60 mph (97 km/h) in less than 15 seconds, performance was stated as being better than many family saloon cars of its era, and off-road performance was good, owing to its long suspension travel and high ground clearance. The 1995 Classic Range Rovers would reduce the 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 km/h) time to around 11 seconds, and increase

3132-477: A top speed of around 100 mph (160 km/h), a towing capacity of 3.5 tons, spacious accommodation for five occupants, hydraulic disc brakes on all wheels, and a groundbreaking four-speed, dual-range, permanent four-wheel drive system. To much critical acclaim, it appeared that Rover had succeeded in their goal of making a car equally capable both on and off-road – arguably better in both environments than any other four-wheel-drive vehicle of its era. With

3248-439: A typical hydraulic automatic transmission , which uses an epicyclic (planetary) design, and a hydraulic torque converter . An automatic transmission that allows the driver to control the gear selection (such as shift paddles or "+/-" positions on the gear selector) is called a manumatic transmission, and is not considered a manual transmission. Some automatic transmissions are based on the mechanical build and internal design of

3364-443: A wire around a shaped former – a cylinder is used to form cylindrical coil springs. Coil springs for vehicles are typically made of hardened steel . A machine called an auto-coiler takes spring wire that has been heated so it can easily be shaped. It is then fed onto a lathe that has a metal rod with the desired coil spring size. The machine takes the wire and guides it onto the spinning rod as well as pushing it across

3480-621: Is also known as the suffix H gearbox or LT77s. Jaguar-Rover-Australia began assembly of the Range Rover from CKD kits at its Enfield plant, in New South Wales , Australia in 1979. Government increases in the tariff on parts led to Australian assembly being discontinued in 1983. The Tracto Agro Group, representatives of the Land Rover brand and the Mack truck brand in Venezuela, starting in 1973 and after making investments to prepare

3596-429: Is also used to describe a gear with a ratio of less than one (e.g., if the top gear of the transmission has a ratio of 0.8:1). Vehicles with a manual transmission can often be push started when the starter motor is not operational, such as when the car has a dead battery or when the starter motor itself has malfunctioned and is unable to deliver sufficient rotational energy to turn the engine over. When push-starting,

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3712-427: Is connected via a pinion gear at the end of the counter/output shaft. In a modern constant-mesh manual transmission, the gear teeth are permanently in contact with each other, and dog clutches (sometimes called dog teeth ) are used to select the gear ratio for the transmission. When the dog clutches for all gears are disengaged (i.e. when the transmission is in neutral), all of the gears are able to spin freely around

3828-445: Is moving forwards. This can take the form of a collar underneath the gear knob which needs to be lifted or requiring extra force to push the gearshift lever into the plane of reverse gear. Another design of transmission that is used in older cars , trucks , and tractors , is a non-synchronous transmission (also known as a crash gearbox). Non-synchronous transmissions use a sliding-mesh (or constant-mesh, in later years) design and have

3944-733: Is the Young's Modulus of the material that determines the spring characteristics. Spring rate is the measurement of how much a coil spring can hold until it compresses 1 inch (2.54 cm). The spring rate is normally specified by the manufacture. If a spring has a rate of 100 then the spring would compress 1 inch with 100 pounds (45 kg) of load. Types of coil spring are: Coil springs have many applications; notable ones include: Coil springs are commonly used in vehicle suspension . These springs are compression springs and can differ greatly in strength and in size depending on application. A coil spring suspension can be stiff to soft depending on

4060-404: Is used to reverse the direction in which the output shaft rotates. In many transmissions, the input and output shafts can be directly locked together (bypassing the countershaft) to create a 1:1 gear ratio which is referred to as direct-drive . In a transmission for longitudinal engined vehicles (e.g. most rear-wheel-drive cars), it is common for the input shaft and output shaft to be located on

4176-674: The Honda Element , the Honda Civic , the Daihatsu Sigra , and the Honda Avancier , may feature a manual or automatic transmission gear shifter located on the vehicle's instrument panel, similar to the mid-1950s Chryslers and Powerglide Corvairs . Console-mounted shifters are similar to floor-mounted gear shifters in that most of the ones used in modern vehicles operate on a horizontal plane and can be mounted to

4292-777: The Land Rover Series III was still imported into the US, a decline in sales and new design regulations caused British Leyland to withdraw the Land Rover brand from the US market in 1974. Americans did want the Range Rover, so in the early 1980s, Americans obtained the Range Rover through the rather costly grey market , modified to meet US regulations by four Los Angeles area-based dealers, and starting in 1984, also by Aston Martin 's American Division based in Greenwich, Connecticut . Import of factory built U.S. Model Range Rovers began 16 March 1987. Range Rover of North America

4408-597: The Rover 800 ) and instruments. These end of the line models are popularly called "soft dash" models by the motor trade and by enthusiasts to distinguish them from other members of the Range Rover Classic series. The Range Rover broke from the Land Rovers of its time by using coil springs instead of the then-common leaf springs . Because of its hefty weight, it also had disc brakes on all four wheels. Originally, it had no power steering , though this

4524-581: The Rover SD1 and the Austin Metro in later years. The original fascia would later be nicknamed the "Airfix Dashboard" by Range Rover enthusiasts owing to its hard, low quality plastics which, as the vehicle moved upmarket over the years, betrayed its humble beginnings as a utility vehicle, It remained with the Range Rover up until the very last years of production when it was replaced by the "soft dash" (see below) Early vehicles may be distinguished by

4640-427: The splines on the shaft, forcing that shaft to rotate at the same speed as the gear hub. However, the clutch can move back and forth on the shaft, to either engage or disengage the splines. This movement is controlled by a selector fork that is linked to the gear lever. The fork does not rotate, so it is attached to a collar bearing on the selector. The selector is typically symmetric: it slides between two gears and has

4756-415: The stereo system or HVAC system , to help prevent accidental activation or driver confusion. More and more small cars and vans from manufacturers such as Suzuki , Honda , and Volkswagen are featuring console shifters in that they free up space on the floor for other features such as storage compartments without requiring that the gear shift be mounted on the steering column. Also, the basic location of

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4872-456: The "100-inch Station Wagon" programme to develop a radical competitor. Rover bought a Bronco, which featured the sort of long-travel coil spring suspension necessary for the required blend of luxury car comfort and Land Rover's proven off-road ability. King is said to have been convinced of coil springs while driving a Rover P6 across rough scrubland on part of the Solihull factory site that

4988-471: The 1948 Ferrari 166 Inter and the 1953 Alfa Romeo 1900 Super Sprint . Five-speed transmissions became widespread during the 1980s, as did the use of synchromesh on all forward gears. Six-speed manual transmissions started to emerge in high-performance vehicles in the early 1990s, such as the 1990 BMW 850i and the 1992 Ferrari 456 . The first 6-speed manual transmission was introduced in the 1967 Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale . The first 7-speed manual transmission

5104-518: The 1950s, constant-mesh manual transmissions have become increasingly commonplace, and the number of forward ratios has increased to 5-speed and 6-speed manual transmissions for current vehicles. The alternative to a manual transmission is an automatic transmission . Common types of automatic transmissions are the hydraulic automatic transmission (AT) and the continuously variable transmission (CVT). The automated manual transmission (AMT) and dual-clutch transmission (DCT) are internally similar to

5220-533: The Buick alloy V8 earned off-road modifications such as carburettors that maintained fuel supply at extreme angles and provision for cranking the engine with a starting handle in emergencies. The final bodywork featured a design largely done by the engineering team, rather than David Bache 's styling division. Introduced to the public in June 1970, the new "Range Rover" was launched as "A Car For All Reasons", boasting

5336-438: The Mack of Venezuela assembly plant, in the city of Las Tejerias, assembled with CKD kits, the Range Rover Classic between 1973 and 1981. Although the Range Rover was designed with the US market in mind, and was planned to be launched in the US in the middle of 1971, with a base price of $ 5,300, that didn't actually happen, due to new US safety and environmental regulations, coupled with British Leyland's precarious finances. While

5452-578: The Range Rover in both two and four door forms. From the 1971 to 1993, Land Rover Special vehicles-along with private builders-outfitted vehicles for police use. The TACR2 was a six-wheeled Range Rover-based successor to the TACR1. Its designation stands for T ruck Fire-Fighting A irfield C rash R escue 2 Tonne 6x4 Mark 2 . It was designed as a rapid response vehicle used by the Royal Air Force , Royal Navy , and various British fire brigades. It

5568-641: The Range Rover was fitted with a detuned 135 hp (101 kW) version of the Buick -derived Rover V8 engine . The 3,528 cc (3.5 L; 215.3 cu in) engine was increased to a displacement of 3,947 cc (3.9 L; 240.9 cu in) for the 1989 model year, and 4,197 cc (4.2 L; 256.1 cu in) in 1992. Petrol-fuelled Range Rovers were fitted with carburettors until 1986, when they were replaced by Lucas electronic fuel injection , improving both performance and fuel economy. The Lucas injection system continued to evolve over

5684-470: The U.S. and Canada had a 3-speed column-mounted shifter—the first generation Chevrolet/GMC vans of 1964–70 vintage had an ultra-rare 4-speed column shifter. The column-mounted manual shifter disappeared in North America by the mid-1980s, last appearing in the 1987 Chevrolet pickup truck . Prior to 1980, the GM X platform compacts (Chevrolet Nova and its rebadged corporate clones) were the final passenger cars to have

5800-502: The UK press due to their inconsistent torque delivery compared to the V8 models. To counter these criticisms Land Rover used a Turbo D Range Rover to set several speed and endurance records for diesel vehicles during 1987, including a continuous run over 24 hours at over 100 mph (160 km/h). The VM were replaced by Land Rover's own 200Tdi turbocharged diesel engine in 1992. and 300Tdi at

5916-546: The all-alloy engine blocks failed under the much greater pressures involved in diesel operation. The project was, therefore, abandoned. The effort to strengthen the Rover V8 for diesel operation was not, however, completely wasted; the 4.2-litre petrol variant of the engine used crankshaft castings developed in the Iceberg project. Because of the Iceberg failure, it was not until 1986 that Range Rovers gained diesel engines from

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6032-631: The availability of leather trim, unhinged rear number plate and a new 4-speed ZF automatic transmission; this was followed by the 1985 model year, which saw the instrument pod replaced by a more modern one (adapted from the Austin Maestro ) and new door cards (using Austin Metro door handles) with walnut inlays. The front end of the Range Rover was revamped in 1986. This brought a more pedestrian-friendly plastic grille with horizontal slats, and optional front valance with two fog lights. The seat base

6148-411: The clutch) or both of these functions are automated ). Most manual transmissions for cars allow the driver to select any gear ratio at any time, for example shifting from second to fourth gear, or fifth to third gear. However, sequential manual transmissions , which are commonly used in motorcycles and racing cars , only allow the driver to select the next-higher or next-lower gear. In a vehicle with

6264-484: The collar from bridging the locking rings while the speeds are still being synchronized. This is achieved through 'blocker rings' (also called 'baulk rings'). The synchro ring rotates slightly because of the frictional torque from the cone clutch. In this position, the dog clutch is prevented from engaging. Once the speeds are synchronized, friction on the blocker ring is relieved and the blocker ring twists slightly, bringing into alignment certain grooves or notches that allow

6380-449: The commercial user who needed an off-road vehicle for carrying passengers without car-like comforts. Based on the commercial variant of the Land Rover, it had seats fitted to the load space and windows cut into the sides. While available with features such as an interior light, heater, door and floor trims and upgraded seats, the estate car retained the base vehicle's tough and capable suspension – as well as its mediocre road performance. By

6496-400: The concept further in the direction Rover had several times attempted, but with more power. To provide Rover a nudge to step up, the president of the company's USA operations shipped a Land Rover Series II 88 to Britain fitted with an advanced small block all-aluminium Buick V8 engine . Rover acknowledged the emerging recreational off-road market in 1967 under Charles Spencer King , and began

6612-463: The cone-shaped sleeve on the dog collar so that the friction forces can reduce the difference in rotational speeds. Once these speeds are equalized, the dog clutch can engage, and thus the new gear is now in use. In a modern gearbox, the action of all of these components is so smooth and fast it is hardly noticed. Many transmissions do not include synchromesh on the reverse gear (see Reverse gear section below). The synchromesh system must also prevent

6728-416: The cranking motion being replaced by the pushing of the car. Coil spring A coil spring is a mechanical device that is typically used to store energy and subsequently release it, to absorb shock, or to maintain a force between contacting surfaces. They are made of an elastic material formed into the shape of a helix that returns to its natural length when unloaded. Under tension or compression,

6844-400: The detailing, such as providing a different front grille and headlamp design. The Range Rover also marked the first appearance of Bache's trademark "symmetric" dashboard, where a common moulding was used for the fascia superstructure on both RHD and LHD versions, onto which the pod-style instrument binnacle was simply mounted on the appropriate side – Bache would use this concept again on both

6960-438: The dog clutch to fall into the engagement. Common metals for synchronizer rings are brass and steel , and are produced either by forging or sheet metal shaping. The latter involves stamping the piece out of a sheet metal strip and then machining to obtain the exact shape required. The rings are sometimes coated with anti-wear linings (also called 'friction linings') made from molybdenum , iron , bronze or carbon (with

7076-427: The dog clutches require the input shaft speed to match that of the gear being selected; otherwise, the dog teeth will fail to engage and a loud grinding sound will be heard as they clatter together. Therefore, to speed up or slow down the input shaft as required, cone-shaped brass synchronizer rings are attached to each gear. When the driver moves the gearshift lever towards the next gear, these synchronizer rings press on

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7192-420: The door from their rear seat locations in a somewhat convenient manner. Several companies offered conversions to four-door Range Rovers in the late 1970s. One of these companies' conversions, by Monteverdi , was even approved by Land Rover to retain warranty after it was presented at the 1980 Geneva Salon . Two years earlier, British Leyland had restructured and promoted Land Rover into its own BL subsidiary and

7308-413: The early 1950s, most cars only had synchromesh for the shift from third gear to second gear (drivers' manuals in vehicles suggested that if the driver needed to shift from second to first, it was best to come to a complete stop beforehand). Up until the late 1970s, most transmissions had three or four forward gear ratios, although five-speed manual transmissions were occasionally used in sports cars such as

7424-550: The end of 1994. The Range Rover used permanent four-wheel drive , rather than the switchable rear-wheel/four-wheel drive on Land Rover Series vehicles, and had a lever for switching ratios on the transfer box for off-road use. Originally, the only gearbox available was a four-speed manual unit, until Fairey overdrive became an option after 1977. A three-speed Chrysler TorqueFlite automatic gearbox became an option in October 1982, after years of demands from buyers. This

7540-407: The energy generated by the wheels moving on the road is transferred to the driveshaft, then the transmission, and eventually the crankshaft. When the crankshaft spins as a result of the energy generated by the rolling of the vehicle, the motor is cranked over. This simulates what the starter is intended for and operates in a similar way to crank handles on very old cars from the early 20th century, with

7656-435: The engine ( clutch disengaged – the clutch pedal is being pressed down). When the engine is running and the clutch is engaged (i.e., clutch pedal up), the flywheel spins the clutch pressure plate and hence the transmission. The design of most manual transmissions for cars is that gear ratios are selected by locking selected gear pairs to the output shaft inside the transmission. This is a fundamental difference compared with

7772-456: The engine speed within the optimal power band for all typical road speeds. Operating such transmissions often uses the same pattern of shifter movement with a single or multiple switches to engage the next sequence of gears. Many of the first automobiles were rear-engined, with a simple belt-drive functioning as a single-speed transmission. The 1891 Panhard et Levassor is considered a significant advance in automotive transmissions since it used

7888-407: The ever more successfully upmarket selling Range Rover, the first generation of a new, less expensive, more family-friendly model was derived: the Discovery. A reclothed Range Rover in essence, riding on the same chassis and wheelbase, with a body using the same windscreen, A-pillar and front door windows, it used much of the Range Rover's inner structure. However, with various cost-reductions – notably

8004-406: The factory. The more efficient 2,393 cc (2.4 L; 146.0 cu in) inline-four VM Motori diesel from Italy was made available as an option for the heavily taxed European market as the 'Turbo D' model, and were increased to 2,499 cc (2.5 L; 152.5 cu in) in 1989. The VM engines were highly advanced and refined diesel engines for their time but were received poorly by

8120-447: The familiar Range Rover styling elements, while upgrading the engine, transmission, suspension, or interior design. The coachbuilders include Carbodies , Carmichael , FLM Panelcraft , Glenfrome , Rapport and Wood and Pickett . Two of Pope John Paul II 's three popemobiles used on his 1982 UK visit were custom Range Rovers. Ogle Design penned the vehicles, the first fully bulletproof Papal transports, and they were delivered at

8236-399: The fifth selector on the main shaft. This means that when the vehicle is stopped and idling in neutral with the clutch engaged and the input shaft spinning, the third-, fourth-, and fifth-gear pairs do not rotate. When neutral is selected, none of the gears on the output shaft are locked to the shaft, allowing the input and output shafts to rotate independently. For reverse gear, an idler gear

8352-526: The first-gen Fiat Ducato . Many European cars had manual column shifts and the Renault 16TX had a 5 speed. Column shifters are mechanically similar to floor shifters, although shifting occurs in a vertical plane instead of a horizontal one. Because the shifter is further away from the transmission, and the movements at the shifter and at the transmission are in different planes, column shifters require more complicated linkage than floor shifters. Advantages of

8468-442: The forces required or provide a faster shift time . The first car to use a manual transmission with synchromesh was the 1929 Cadillac . Most North American marques had adopted synchronized manual transmissions, usually for second and high gears, by the mid-1930s. In 1947, Porsche patented the split ring synchromesh system. The 1952 Porsche 356 was the first car to use a transmission with synchromesh on all forward gears. In

8584-401: The forward gears. These devices automatically match the speed of the input shaft with that of the gear being selected, thus removing the need for the driver to use techniques such as double-clutching . The synchromesh transmission was invented in 1919 by Earl Avery Thompson and first used on production cars by Cadillac in 1928. The need for synchromesh in a constant-mesh transmission is that

8700-418: The front-wheel-drive transaxle's ring gear. This allows for a narrower transmission since the length of each countershaft is halved compared with one that contains four gears and two shifters. The fixed and free gears can be mounted on either the input or output shaft or both. For example, a five-speed transmission might have the first-to-second selectors on the countershaft, but the third-to-fourth selector and

8816-437: The gear shift in comparison to the column shifter makes console shifters easier to operate than column shifters. In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, fuel-efficient highway cruising with low engine speed was in some cases enabled on vehicles equipped with 3- or 4-speed transmissions by means of a separate overdrive unit in or behind the rear housing of the transmission. This was actuated either manually while in high gear by throwing

8932-410: The gearshift lever into reverse results in gears moving to mesh together. Another unique aspect of the reverse gear is that it consists of two gears—an idler gear on the countershaft and another gear on the output shaft—and both of these are directly fixed to the shaft (i.e. they are always rotating at the same speed as the shaft). These gears are usually spur gears with straight-cut teeth which—unlike

9048-440: The general design. Bonnet and door hinges gradually evolved out of sight and the fuel filler cap was hidden behind a hinged flap. The last major change to the interior took place in 1994, when the Range Rover was re-designated "Classic" upon the arrival of the replacement P38A version. The car gained a 'soft feel' safety dashboard (derived from that used in the facelifted Series 1 Discovery ) with new switches (these were lifted from

9164-410: The helical teeth used for forward gear—results in a whining sound as the vehicle moves in reverse. When reverse gear is selected, the idler gear is physically moved to mesh with the corresponding gears on the input and output shafts. To avoid grinding as the gears begin to the mesh, they need to be stationary. Since the input shaft is often still spinning due to momentum (even after the car has stopped),

9280-645: The late 1930s and became common during the 1940s and 1950s. If a U.S. vehicle was equipped with overdrive , it was very likely to be a Borg-Warner type, operated by briefly backing off the accelerator pedal when above 28 mph (45 km/h) to enable, and momentarily flooring the same pedal to return to normal gear. The control simply disables overdrive for such situations as parking on a hill or preventing unwanted shifting into overdrive. [REDACTED] Later, European and Japanese models began to have 4-speed column shifters with this shift pattern: [REDACTED] A majority of North American-spec vehicles sold in

9396-443: The late 1950s Rover had become convinced a market for a more comfortable 4x4 existed in areas such as Africa and Australia, where ordinary motorists faced long journeys on unmade roads that called for four-wheel drive and tough suspension. In 1958 the first of the "Road Rover" development cars was built. Combining the Land Rover's tenacity with the comfort of a Rover saloon car, it featured a Land Rover chassis and running gear clothed in

9512-399: The latter usually reserved for high-performance transmissions due to their high cost). Mechanical wear of the synchronizer rings and sleeves can cause the synchromesh system to become ineffective over time. These rings and sleeves have to overcome the momentum of the entire input shaft and clutch disk during each gearshift (and also the momentum and power of the engine, if the driver attempts

9628-402: The material (wire) of a coil spring undergoes torsion. The spring characteristics therefore depend on the shear modulus . A coil spring may also be used as a torsion spring : in this case the spring as a whole is subjected to torsion about its helical axis. The material of the spring is thereby subjected to a bending moment , either reducing or increasing the helical radius. In this mode, it

9744-459: The mechanical linkage for the clutch pedal is replaced by an actuator , servo , or solenoid and sensors , which operate the clutch system automatically when the driver touches or moves the gearshift . This removes the need for a physical clutch pedal. A manual transmission requires the driver to operate the gear stick and clutch in order to change gears (unlike an automatic transmission or semi-automatic transmission , where one (typically

9860-456: The next several years, culminating in the 1990 to 1995 Lucas 14CUX . Some export markets retained carburettors, with the original Zenith/Stromberg manufactured units being replaced by Skinners Union (SU)-manufactured items. From 1979 onwards, Land Rover collaborated with Perkins on Project Iceberg, an effort to develop a diesel version of the Range Rover's 3.5-litre V8 engine. Both naturally aspirated and turbocharged versions were built, but

9976-462: The nickname "crash" because the difficulty in changing gears can lead to gear shifts accompanied by crashing/crunching noises. Vehicles with manual transmissions use a clutch to manage the linkage between the engine and the transmission, and decouple the transmission from the engine during gearshifts and when the vehicle is stationary. Without a clutch, the engine would stall any time the vehicle stopped, and changing gears would be difficult (deselecting

10092-578: The now more independent company used the Monteverdi as a basis for producing its own four-door model in July 1981. The four-door version was well received by the public — its popularity was such that the two-door was discontinued in the United Kingdom in 1984, although the two-door continued to be produced through January 1994, mainly for the French market. The first major push upmarket was in 1984, which saw

10208-689: The original Range Rover's chassis, drive-train and body-structure, which in essence lived on until the third generation Discovery arrived, and its mechanical blood-line ended with the replacement of the Mark 2 Discovery after 2004. In   early 2020, the 26-year production run of the original Range Rover was counted as the twenty-seventh most long-lived single generation car in history by Autocar magazine." Rover 's Land Rover Series I launched in 1948 had been designed to be cheap, simple to manufacture, and suitable for hard work in rural terrain, with minimal concessions toward comfort. Rover shortly realised that

10324-430: The original model under the term Range Rover Classic , to distinguish it from its new P38A successor , when the two were briefly built alongside, and applied the name retrospectively to all first-generation Range Rovers. Although formally superseded by the second generation Range Rover, starting in 1994 – both the successor and the more affordable first and second series of the Land Rover Discovery were heavily based on

10440-406: The other shaft, with a bearing located between the two shafts. In a transmission for transverse engined vehicles (e.g., front-wheel-drive cars), there are usually only two shafts: input and countershaft (sometimes called input and output). The input shaft runs the whole length of the gearbox, and there is no separate input pinion. These transmissions also have an integral differential unit, which

10556-489: The output shaft gears are able to rotate independently of the output shaft itself (through the use of bearings located between the gears and the shaft). Through the use of collars (operated using the shift rods ), the speed of the output shaft becomes temporarily locked to the speed of the selected gear. Some transmission designs—such as in the Volvo 850 and S70—have two countershafts, both driving an output pinion meshing with

10672-424: The output shaft. When the driver selects a gear, the dog clutch for that gear is engaged (via the gear selector rods), locking the transmission's output shaft to a particular gear set. This means the output shaft rotates at the same speed as the selected gear, thus determining the gear ratio of the transmission. The dog clutch is a sliding selector mechanism that sits around the output shaft. It has teeth to fit into

10788-423: The rear 'C' pillars being absent of a vinyl covering which was introduced a little later in the 1970s. One of the first significant changes came in 1981, with the introduction of a four-door body. Until then, Range Rovers only had two doors for the sake of body strength, making access to the rear seats – especially ingress – rather awkward. These doors were also very large and heavy. Egress was somewhat alleviated by

10904-408: The rear of the car was actually made slightly longer than its more expensive stable mate. On top of that, the spare wheel was mounted on the outside of the vehicle — all three measures greatly increased the Discovery's luggage compartment space compared to the Range Rover. Its original 3.5 litre V8-engine was available as an option on the Discovery and, to compensate, the Range Rover's standard V8-engine

11020-438: The rear, and which kept it going through 2004. The Range Rover Classic was a popular platform for conversion vehicles built by independent coachbuilders. Some examples of common modifications include ambulances, 6x4s, convertibles, police vehicles, limos, and open top hunting cars. Though some coachbuilders utilised Range Rovers simply for the chassis and drivetrain while grafting new fabricated bodies on top, most of them retained

11136-401: The same axis, since this reduces the torsional forces to which the transmission casing must withstand. The assembly consisting of both the input and output shafts is referred to as the main shaft (although sometimes this term refers to just the input shaft or output shaft). Independent rotation of the input and output shafts is made possible by one shaft being located inside the hollow bore of

11252-441: The same speed when engaged; otherwise, the teeth would refuse to mesh. This was difficult to achieve, so gear changes were often accompanied by grinding or crunching sounds, resulting in the gearboxes being nicknamed "crash boxes". Even after passenger cars had switched to synchronous transmissions (i.e. with synchronizers), many transmissions for heavy trucks, motorcycles and racing cars remained non-synchronous, in order to withstand

11368-422: The selector forks within the transmission. Motorcycles typically employ sequential manual transmissions , although the shift pattern is modified slightly for safety reasons. Gear selection is usually via the left-foot (or, on older motorcycles; right-foot) shift lever with a layout of 1–N–2–3–4–5–6. During the period when U.S. vehicles usually had only three forward speeds, the most common gear-shifter location

11484-410: The special design feature of having two inside door-opening latches: latches in the front of the doors for the driver and front passenger, and a second set of equally large and prominently styled door-opener latches on the inside rear of the doors (behind the front seats), providing rear seat occupants full autonomy to leave the vehicle. They could easily fold the seats in front of them forward, and open

11600-423: The state of Colorado , from 21 August to 2 September 1989. Partway through the event, one of these special edition Range Rovers was rolled multiple times at high speed by automotive journalist Jay Lamm. On 1 August 1992, The Range Rover of North America label became Land Rover North America, Inc. Facing a limited budget, but a strong need to offer a model in between the ageing Defender 90 and Defender 110, and

11716-623: The top speed to approximately 110 mph (180 km/h). Notable off-road feats were winning the four-wheel drive class in the first Paris-Dakar Rally in 1979 and 1981, and being two of the first vehicles (along with a Land Rover Series IIA ) to traverse both American continents north-to-south through the Darién Gap from 1971 to 1972. Even though the concept was initially aimed at customers like construction foremen and military officers who needed 4WD for professional reasons as well as occasional recreational users like skiers, it soon became

11832-484: The transmission. FF (front-engined, front-wheel drive) vehicles, RR (rear-engined, rear-wheel drive) vehicles and front-engined vehicles with rear-mounted gearboxes often require a mechanical linkage to connect the shifter to the transmission. Some vehicles have a gear lever mounted on the steering column. A 3-speed column shifter, which came to be popularly known as a "three on the tree", began appearing in America in

11948-479: The vehicle it is used on. Coil spring can be either mounted with a shock absorber or mounted separately. Coil springs in trucks allow them to ride smoothly when unloaded and once loaded the spring compresses and becomes stiff. This allows the vehicle to bounce less when loaded. Coil spring suspension is also used in high performance cars so that the car can absorb bumps and have low body roll. In off-road vehicles they are used because of their range of travel they allow at

12064-467: The vehicle's transmission in much the same way a floor-mounted shifter can. However, because of the location of the gear shifter in comparison to the locations of the column shifter and the floor shifter, as well as the positioning of the shifter to the rest of the controls on the panel often require that the gearshift be mounted in a space that does not feature a lot of controls integral to the vehicle's operation, or frequently used controls, such as those for

12180-521: The wheel. Coil springs used in the engine are compression springs and play an important role in closing the valves that feed air and let exhaust gasses out of the combustion chamber. The spring is attached to a rocker that is connected to the valve. Tension and extension coil springs of a given material, wire diameter and coil diameter exert the same force when fully loaded; increased number of coils merely (linearly) increases free length and compressed/extended length. Metal coil springs are made by winding

12296-402: Was added in 1973. One problem with the Range Rover chassis was that it suffered considerably from body roll . Because of this, the suspension was lowered by 20 mm (0.8 in) in 1980, and later gained anti-roll bars . Air suspension was introduced in late 1992 for high-end 1993 models. Most Range Rovers had a 100-inch (2,540 mm) wheelbase . However, 1992 saw the introduction of

12412-466: Was being redeveloped. He was also convinced that a permanent four-wheel drive transmission was needed both to provide adequate handling and reliably absorb the power required for the vehicle to be competitive. The cost of developing a totally new transmission was spread between the 100-inch SW project and one working on what would become the Land Rover 101 Forward Control . Powerful, light and sturdy,

12528-700: Was built by Carmichael, Gloster Saro and HCB Angus. It is permanent four wheel drive and the trailing axle was originally unpowered. Some TACR2s have been converted to six wheel drive. After their service life ended, some were transferred to regional or airport fire service. The Range Rover was a favoured platform for ambulances across the British Isles, with builders Carmichael, Herbert Lomas, Pilcher Greene, Wadham Stringer , Spencer Abbot, and Heinel Specialbilar supplying modifications. Manual transmission Early automobiles used sliding-mesh manual transmissions with up to three forward gear ratios. Since

12644-538: Was easier to modify for US emission regulations. The Range Rover was officially introduced to the US market in the 1987 LA Auto Show in January and Chicago Auto Show on 7 February. In 1988, Range Rover won Playboy ′s "Best 4x4" award. In 1989, to establish its reputation, eight special edition Range Rovers were prepared for the "Great Divide Expedition", a 12-day, 1128 mile trek in the Rocky Mountains in

12760-482: Was enlarged to 3.9 litres. In 1992, to address customers request for more rear-seat legroom in the otherwise luxurious Range Rover, a 108-inch (2,743 mm) long wheelbase option was introduced; and in 1994, the 2nd generation Range Rover (LP) was introduced, using an evolution of the long wheelbase chassis and drivetrain . In 1994, the Classic model, which was to continue in production alongside its replacement for

12876-476: Was established in Lanham, Maryland in late 1985, to import through the ports of Baltimore and Long Beach, California . Only four door models were ever imported. With demand far exceeding supply, Range Rovers were often resold for far more than their retail price. Range Rover would be sold nationwide through a network of 36 dealers, expanding to 65 by 1988. With fuel injection replacing the carburetors, Range Rover

12992-406: Was expected that Rover's stylist David Bache would provide a design for the outer panels for use on the production vehicles. For the prototypes the engineers designed their own functional body panels simply to protect the occupants and to allow the vehicles to be driven legally on the road. However the clean, square-cut and functional design of the prototype was deemed so good that Bache only altered

13108-466: Was introduced in the 2012 Porsche 911 (991) . In 2008, 75.2% of vehicles produced in Western Europe were equipped with manual transmission, versus 16.1% with automatic and 8.7% with other. A manual transmission has several shafts with various gears and other components attached to them. Most modern passenger cars use 'constant-mesh' transmissions consisting of three shafts: an input shaft ,

13224-537: Was lowered and door handles were redesigned, making it more difficult for rear passengers but greatly improving the comfort for taller people in the front. The dashboard switchgear was updated again, now featuring steering column stalks from the Austin Montego , and other miscellaneous items from the Austin Rover car range. Other changes included the windows, tailgate and bonnet, but none of those affected

13340-461: Was on the steering column, a layout that was sometimes called "three on the tree". By contrast, high-performance cars, and European vehicles in general, mostly used a four-speed transmission with floor-mounted shifters. That layout was referred to as "four on the floor". Most FR (front-engined, rear-wheel drive) vehicles have a transmission that sits between the driver and the front passenger seat. Floor-mounted shifters are often connected directly to

13456-516: Was upgraded to a 4-speed ZF box in 1985, coupled to an LT230 transfer box. The other major transmission upgrade in the Range Rover's lifetime was the switch from the LT95 combined four-speed manual gearbox and transfer box to the LT77 five-speed gearbox and separate LT230 transfer box in 1983. The LT230 was later used on both the Defender and Discovery models, but was replaced on the Range Rover by

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