Land Rover history had begun in post WW II Britany. The very first Land Rover was built in 1947 by two brothers, Maurice and Spencer Wilks. Maurice was chief designer of a Rover, British car manufacturing company and Spencer was its Managing Director. Brothers got inspiration from military 4×4 Willys Jeep.
The first Land Rover was officially presented in 1948, at the Amsterdam Motor Show. The car was offered in single configuration: open body on 80 inch (2032 mm) short-wheelbase chassis.
In 1950 AWC system was improved: gearbox received additional lever in order to switch transmission between rear wheel drive and all-wheel drive modes. Customers could choose wheelbase length and body configuration. Land Rover became synonym or reliability and superb off-road capabilities.