This Forgotten Generation of Range Rover Was Also One of the Brand’s Most Significant Turning Points

These days, it’s easy to diminish Range Rovers as nothing more than opulent Beverly Hills mall crawlers. But look past its bougie star-studded prominence and one will see that they’re actually incredibly capable and exquisitely engineered machines.

However, the Range Rover’s fame didn’t come out of thin air. And despite developing a reputation for building pavement queens (and sometimes broken ones), that wasn’t always the case.

The Range Rover culminates Land Rover’s decades-long history and heritage for making some of the world’s most capable and rugged off-roaders in all the land. But its luxury image didn’t really shine until the second “P38A” generation.

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Which is why we’re taking a moment to appreciate this awfully gorgeous and low-mileage example of what is arguably the most underrated and important Range Rover ever on BringATrailer.

The Mercedes-Benz S-Class of SUVs

Land Rover

The particular tagline above might seem silly. After all, Mercedes has its own fair set of capable and luxurious four-by-fours and SUVs. Such includes the GLE-Class (former M-Class), GLS-Class (former GL) and the world-famous Geländewagen.

Land Rover

While it may not literally be a Mercedes-Benz, the Range Rover might have as well been. In the same way that the world looks to the S-Class as a pioneer and innovator in road-going automotive technology, the world also looks to the Range Rover.

Land Rover

It’s the benchmark for the same reasons. Except for SUVs and for both on and off-road versatility.

For instance, although Land Rover introduced electronically-controlled air suspension in the original’s final years, the P38A further popularized it. The P38A can automatically lower its suspension above a certain speed for improved handling and aerodynamics.

Land Rover

The system resets to its normal position below a certain speed. And, it will even lower automatically when the doors are opened for easy access. The ride height can also be manually adjusted.

Such technology does predate the Range Rover and could be found on some earlier Mercedes-Benz S-Class models, Rolls-Royces, Bentleys and even Citroën. But Range Rover introduced the technology to the world of SUVs, adding a level of sophistication never before seen in the segment.

Fewer cars blend capability with prowess both on paved and unpaved surfaces like a Range Rover. Since the P38A, the Range Rover has set the standard for how a modern world-class SUV should ride, drive and behave.

“A Car For All Reasons”

Land Rover

Since Land Rover began producing automobiles, it gained a reputation for producing some of the world’s most dependable all-terrain vehicles. Go to any corner of the planet — way before Toyotas began proliferating, it was always an old Land Rover providing transportation duties in the most desolate parts.

Land Rover

When Land Rover expanded its offerings to produce a more road-friendly utility vehicle, the Range Rover was born in 1970.

But the OG Range Rover wasn’t the cossetting go-anywhere British tearoom on wheels as it is today. It was rather spartan and rugged.

Land Rover

The idea was to combine the capabilities and durability of its Series I, II and III models, but for more urban use. And that’s what it served as for the following two decades until about the mid-1980s.

Throughout its 20-plus-year production cycle, the original Range Rover underwent a long-list of upgrades and revisions. But its role as a luxury car didn’t begin until the mid-’80s.

Land Rover

Then, Land Rover began adding a leather- and wood-lined interior. The growing standard equipment list began to include innovative features such as electronic air suspension, electronically controlled drivetrain components, and amenities, among others.

If it’s good enough for the Queen…

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It wasn’t until this P38A generation, however, that the Range Rover truly embraced and embodied its original “do-it-all” mission while dressed up in a Savile Row suit.

A monumental leap forward compared to the original, the P38A was a much-needed replacement for the previous model. Especially after its outrageously long production run.

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Engineers kept the original model’s ruggedness by retaining a body-on-frame platform. But thanks to an influx of German money after BMW purchased the automaker from its troubled British Leyland past, they also factored in much more.

They enriched the interior, exponentially improved ergonomics, and added more convenience features and technology than ever before.

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Despite being such a radical move forward for the model, the P38A had the shortest production lifespan. Land Rover sold them in droves to those with deep enough pockets for them.

Such clientele even included British Royalty, such as the late Queen Elizabeth II herself. Aside from being a source of national pride, the Range Rover was her favorite personal ride.

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However, finding a P38A in good shape is becoming all the rarer. Understandably so. The P38A was still shaking off its shoddy British reputation for being assembled by a few hungover blokes in a shed.

Its heightened complexity made them expensive to keep on the road. But that doesn’t diminish how integral it is to shaping the Range Rover into the vehicle that it is today.

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Despite their cloudy reputation for questionable reliability, when well-kept and maintained, P38As are still fairly dependable machines.

It’s far more deserving of recognition. And only the few enthusiasts who still own them — and use them as the capable overlanding vehicles that they very much are — truly appreciate them.

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