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CARS - LATE SIXTIES | |
| European Innovation | |
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European Innovation Range Rover
Renault R16
Alfasud
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| The Menzies Era | European Innovation |
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The
original Land Rover had come into being in 1947 as a replacement for world War
11 Jeep's which proved useful as farm vehicles. Twenty years later, in the
prosperous mid-sixties, it was found that two-thirds of Land Rovers were being
used as recreational vehicles. Rover decided that the time had come to
build a vehicle which combined the comfort of its road cars with the off-road
performance of its Land Rovers. The resulting Range Rover, launched in 1970, was
a huge success everywhere in the world except in North America were it was
unable to meet safety and emission regulations. (The Range Rover was eventually
launched in North America in 1987.)
The
Renault R16 was a brand new design constructed in a brand new factory. It
incorporated may innovative features which have since become commonplace. The
most obvious of these was the rear hatch but a moveable read seat, an aluminium
diecast block, an alternator rather than a dynamo and a nylon cooling fan
operated by a thermostat, were all innovative. 
In 1958, the
Italian government persuaded Alfa Romeo to build a new factory near Naples to
improve employment conditions in that region. Alfa developed the Alfasud, an
innovative, compact car with outstanding handling and a lively boxer engine. The
Alfasud remained in production until 1984 when it was replaced by the Alfa 33.