Last week I attended a star-studded party at Packington Hall close to Land Rover’s Solihull plant where the new Land Rover Discovery was launched by British adventurer Bear Grylls on a replica Tower Bridge made entirely with LEGO. Built from the ultimate family toy, the sculpture was made from 5,805,846 individual LEGO bricks, which laid end to end, would stretch for almost 200 miles, or from Tower Bridge in London to Paris. Land Rover even set a new Guinness World Record for the largest LEGO installation ever built.
I am not sure whether I was impressed more by Bear Grylls’ stunt as he jumped from an helicopter on the top of the bridge, the new shiny Land Rover Discovery with all its gadgets, the A-listers at the party and the amazing food served during the reveal.
By the end of the evening I felt like an expert in the history of Land Rover and a fan of the Discovery. Funny for a person who doesn’t care much about cars at all.
You can watch the reveal video here
For all young and less young LEGO fans out there, you will love watching the time-lapse video of the LEGO build
The LEGO Tower Bridge structure took five months to complete. It was set up in Packington Hall, a few kilometers away from Land Rover’s Solihull factory where the new 7-seat SUV is built.
Bear Grylls was chosen as Land Rover ambassador because he has been using the Discovery for his expeditions and has always very convincingly described these cars as ‘the unsung heroes’ of his many adventures while filming in deserts, jungles or mountains.
Other Land Rover ambassadors attending the reveal included Zara Phillips, Sir Ben Ainslie and all the athletes of the Land Rover BAR boat which will participate in the America’s Cup next year.
Sir Ben drove the new Discovery through deep water under the bridge showcasing the power of this car which from the outside looks like an elegant urban family car.
During the show attendees had the chance to refresh their memories on the 27-years of Land Rover Discovery heritage and learn the key aspects of the new family car. Land Rover’s chief design officer Gerry McGovern explained his desire to create a highly desirable, extremely versatile and hugely capable premium SUV ‘above and beyond’ with on-road and off-road capabilities.
Of course a car like this comes at a price, £46,800 (for the basic model) to be precise, but it certainly is a very desirable family vehicle. Would it be too cheeky to add it to my Santa’s list this Christmas?
