Jaguar Land Rover Commissions SkunkWorks Surf Co. to Make Five Surfboards from early Range Rover Evoque Design Model

• Custom Surfboards Made From Discarded Automotive Models Hit Southern California Shores Following LA Auto Show
• Jaguar Land Rover Commissions SkunkWorks Surf Co. to Make Five Surfboards from early Range Rover Evoque Design Model

Closing out the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show, Jaguar Land Rover surfboards hit the water for the first time in North America on the shores of El Porto Beach in Manhattan Beach, CA on December 1. Created as part of the Jaguar Land Rover ‘Waste to Wave’ project, first debuting at Jaguar Land Rover Tech Fest in September, the boards are made from recycled polyurethane foam used as the structure in discarded vehicle design studio models.

The surfboards were shaped in partnership with SkunkWorks Surf Co, a surf company based in Northern Ireland with a focus on minimizing environmental impact. Five custom boards were handmade for the Los Angeles Auto Show with colorful designs showcasing the Californian lifestyle, including the Hollywood sign, rock guitarist and a tie-dye pattern. The boards feature carbon fiber rails from the nose and a carbon strip from the tail for additional strength while allowing flex to push through high-intensity maneuvers.

Plastic sent to landfill can take up to 500 years to decompose. The Waste to Wave project is part of a wider ‘second life’ initiative by Jaguar Land Rover and supports the company’s longer term zero waste strategy.

Polyurethane is used in the manufacturing process of life-size clay models which are modelled by hand at the very beginning of the car design process. The polymer forms the ‘skeleton’ of the models, which is normally destroyed once a car is launched, while the clay is recycled and re-used on site.  Now, Jaguar Land Rover is ensuring that plastic is recovered and sliced into blocks ready for a second life as surfboards or paddleboards.

The Los Angeles surfing event was the first time the boards had been used outside of the UK since England’s number one female surfer, Lucy Campbell, first tested them off the coast of Northern Ireland in September.

Five national winners awarded Land Rover Discovery Sport for a year to help develop their countryside careers

• Five national winners awarded Land Rover Discovery Sport for a year to help develop their  countryside careers
• Young people aged from 21 to 34 from England, Wales and Scotland to benefit from annual bursary
• Winning projects including start up microbrewery, and rare breed wool business demonstrating diverse rural careers being pursued by young people in the UK in 2016

Land Rover and The Prince’s Countryside Fund (PCF) have announced the five winners of their 2016 bursary, which offers a year’s loan of a Land Rover Discovery Sport vehicle to support young people in the development of their countryside careers.

The winning entrants, including 21-year-old Lewis Steer, who runs a rare breed wool business and 28-year-old Steven Holmes, founder of a new microbrewery in Lancaster, were selected for their entrepreneurial spirit and passion for making a difference within their rural community.

The five winners were awarded the vehicles at Loseley Park in Surrey alongside vehicle handling training from Land Rover Experience to prepare them for all terrains and weather conditions, and teach them about the vehicle’s range of on and off-road features and towing capabilities.  

Land Rover has supported The Prince's Countryside Fund since 2013, contributing to the Fund's grant giving programme in addition to the annual bursary scheme.

The Land Rover Discovery Sport is the world’s most versatile compact SUV providing beneficiaries with seven seats, towing capability of 2.2 tonnes and Land Rover’s legendary Terrain Response making it capable whatever the weather or terrain.

One winner, Ashley Stamper, 24, Contract Hill Shepherd said, “The loan of the Land Rover Discovery Sport is going to really boost my ambition to become a self-employed shepherdess. 

Coming from a family of beauticians, setting up in agriculture and generating capital has been challenging, however the more I am able to travel around and build a reputation for myself, the more successful I will be. 

I’m really excited for the year ahead and to get my trailer licence, making my work more efficient and a lot more enjoyable!”

Jeremy Hicks, Jaguar Land Rover UK Managing Director said, “We are really excited to announce the five winners of this year’s bursary with The Prince’s Countryside Fund. 

UK farming is a crucial part of our economy and the breadth of different careers our winners are carving for themselves demonstrates just how important diversification is becoming for young people to prosper in the industry. 

They are also showing other young people that farming is an exciting, multi-dimensional career choice. 

We hope that each one of them will truly benefit from the loan of the Discovery Sport, with the vehicle and the savings made on other transport costs, helping to take their projects to the next level.”

Claire Saunders, director of The Prince’s Countryside Fund said: “We’re delighted to be able to support five ambitious young people who are making huge strides in their rural careers. These entrepreneurs are great ambassadors for young people making a difference in their rural communities. 

Our partnership with Land Rover has provided a great opportunity for people who live and work in the countryside and everyone involved with The Prince’s Countryside Fund is excited to follow their journey this year and see the difference these vehicles can make.”

The 2016 Prince’s Countryside Fund Land Rover Bursary list of winners includes:

Lewis Steer, 21, Lily Warne Wool, Chudleigh, Devon: Alongside studying Rural Estate and Land Management at The Royal Agricultural University, Lewis runs his own wool business, taking sheared wool from his flock of rare breed Greyface Dartmoor sheep. 

Lewis, who does not come from a farming background, shears his flock by hand and takes his fleece to the local wool mill where it is spun into yarn before returning to the farm. Lewis’s entrepreneurial spirit and passion for agriculture has led to some exciting business opportunities. 

His Lily Warne Wool (named after his great great grandmother) is one of the only in the country to carry out the entire woollen process ‘from farm to yarn’, and focuses on reconnecting people with British Wool. 

He will use the Land Rover Discovery Sport for his day-to-day shepherding, moving the sheep between rented land and to access other farms to buy wool and skins through the co-operative he has set up, supporting other local farmers to gain more from their stock.

Steven Holmes, 28, Farm Yard Ales, Cockerham, Lancaster: Based on his family’s farm in Lancaster, Steven is doing something truly different within agriculture. He is in the early stages of creating a new microbrewery enterprise on the farm, which will be erected this summer. 

Steven is passionate about supporting other small enterprises and once trading, plans to support other independent breweries through a system known as cask swapping. 

This is a co-operative process that involves sending full casks to other breweries who then sell on your behalf, allowing each breweries product to travel further and sell on a national level. 

The casks are then returned full and the process is reciprocated, reducing the logistical costs of collecting empty casks. Steven will use the vehicle to pull a flatbed trailer to assist with deliveries and collections of the craft beer in and around Lancashire in the early stages of his start-up business, whilst conveying the British farming heritage behind Farm Yard Ales.

Ashley Stamper, 24, Contract Hill Shepherd, Northumberland: Ashley, who lives and studies Agriculture in Edinburgh, is a contract hill shepherd working in Northumberland covering 9,000 acres of land. 

Breaking away from the family beauty business, Ashley is paving her own career in sheep farming, taking on tasks including lambing, dosing, crutching, and foot trimming. Her dream is to one day be a self-employed contract shepherdess. 

Ashley will use the Land Rover Discovery Sport to transport her sheepdogs and feed down farm tracks that are inaccessible in her current car. She plans to get her trailer licence during the course of the year and use the vehicle to tow livestock for farmers within her community.

Helen Reeve, 34, Dairy Farmer from Alburgh, Harleston: Helen works full time on a dairy herd, looking after over 300 Jersey cows, which involves milking, calf rearing and cleaning. As well as this, she owns her own herd of pedigree Dexter cattle that are reared for breeding and beef production. 

In her spare time, Helen is a member of a number of clubs and societies and uses her experience to give talks and presentations to various groups about her chosen profession and life as a young female farmer and is committed to helping young people understand more about the career opportunities available in farming and agriculture. 

Helen will use the vehicle to transport feed for the cattle through tricky terrains and across dirt tracks in her area. She will also use it to transport the cattle themselves which she is currently unable to do in her current compact vehicle. 

Tomos Evans, 29, Sheep Farmer from Carmarthen, Wales: The retirement of Tomos’s parents led him to take up the family farming business and continue to lead their livestock enterprise. 

Since 2012, he has developed a successful flock of pedigree Texel sheep, pedigree Coloured Ryelands, Black Limouosins and 150 Welsh Mules. Tomos is a member of the South Wales Texel Club and currently Vice Chairman and a member of the Royal Welsh Show's Youth Forum. 

Tomos will use the Land Rover Discovery Sport to access his rented land in eight different locations and to tow the animals from field to field for grazing, as well as to shows and sales.

Jeremy Hicks, Jaguar Land Rover UK Managing Director said, “We are really excited to announce the five winners of this year’s bursary with The Prince’s Countryside Fund. 

UK farming is a crucial part of our economy and the breadth of different careers our winners are carving for themselves demonstrates just how important diversification is becoming for young people to prosper in the industry. 

They are also showing other young people that farming is an exciting, multi-dimensional career choice. We hope that each one of them will truly benefit from the loan of the Discovery Sport, with the vehicle and the savings made on other transport costs, helping to take their projects to the next level.”

Claire Saunders, director of The Prince’s Countryside Fund said: “We’re delighted to be able to support five ambitious young people who are making huge strides in their rural careers. 

These entrepreneurs are great ambassadors for young people making a difference in their rural communities. 

Our partnership with Land Rover has provided a great opportunity for people who live and work in the countryside and everyone involved with The Prince’s Countryside Fund is excited to follow their journey this year and see the difference these vehicles can make.”

HONEST JOHN AWARDS - Land Rover and the Discovery Sport takes the Most Popular SUV title.

• Land Rover UK reveals top facts about Discovery Sport in new Infographic celebrating the model’s success at the Honest John Awards
• Land Rover Discovery Sport is the most searched for SUV on honestjohn.co.uk and takes ‘Most Popular SUV’ award win in the process
• Did you know? Infographic points to latest customer trends in colours and options 
• Honestjohn.co.uk editorial team praises Discovery Sport for its blend of premium quality and renowned off-road ability

Land Rover’s second-fastest selling model, the Discovery Sport has taken the ‘Most Popular SUV’ honour at the annual honestjohn.co.uk awards ceremony. It came out on top as the most searched for SUV over the past 12 months on Honest John’s website. The latest accolade takes the Discovery Sport’s award tally past the 50 mark in only 18 months on sale in the UK.

Dan Harrison, editor of honestjohn.co.uk “SUVs - along with crossovers – are the most popular types of cars with our audience, so to win the Most Popular SUV award means fending off strong competition. And that's exactly what the new Land Rover Discovery Sport has managed for 2016. We saw a big spike in the number of users reading the review when the new Ingenium diesel engine was launched – and it's an engine we rate very highly indeed. Blending premium quality with renowned Land Rover off-road ability, the Discovery Sport has proved a real hit with the honestjohn.co.uk audience.”

Jeremy Hicks, Jaguar Land Rover UK MD, said: “The Discovery Sport majors on quality, practicality, safety, technology and low running costs. The introduction of the highly advanced range of 2.0 litre Ingenium diesel engines has further cemented its segment-leading position and popularity with both business and private buyers alike. We are delighted to accept this award from Honest John and it adds to an already impressive list of accolades for the Discovery Sport."

 Did you know?

The Discovery Sport is available from £299pm for the TD4 180 SE – standard with heated front seats, Terrain Response and the only premium compact SUV that can seat seven people

• The most popular colours specified by Discovery Sport customers are Corris Grey, Santorini Black and Fuji White.
• Most popular optional extras are Privacy Glass, Black Pack and Contrast Roof
• 65% of all Discovery Sports sold are specified in more luxurious trims such as HSE or above
• 100,000 Discovery Sports were sold in its first year of production
• Discovery Sport features the world’s first automotive integration of the Tile Bluetooth tracking device within Land Rover InControl™ apps – never leave home without your important items ever again.
• The recently launched 2017 Discovery Sport features a larger 10.2-inch touchscreen plus a 60GB Solid State Drive (SSD) as part of the brand’s advanced InControl Touch Pro infotainment system
• You can wade up to a depth of 600mm and constantly check water depth with Land Rover’s Wade Sensing

The world’s-first automotive integration of Tile Bluetooth tracking device with Land Rover InControl™ apps

• The world’s-first automotive integration of Tile Bluetooth tracking device with Land Rover InControl™ apps
• Smart app ensures customers never leave important day-to-day items behind
• Tile integration links to new InControl Touch Pro infotainment system and can even direct owners to missing or lost items
• Updated Discovery Sport on sale now in the UK priced from £31,095

The 2017 Land Rover Discovery Sport is the car that never forgets thanks to the world-first integration of Tile’s advanced tracking app. The premium compact SUV is the first vehicle to incorporate the pioneering technology in addition to enhanced new design, convenience and safety features.

The rush to work or the school run can often result in important items being left behind, but the new Discovery Sport is designed to make forgotten wallets and missing bags a thing of the past. The app uses Tile tags, tiny Bluetooth trackers that can be attached to important items and used to track their whereabouts using smartphone technology.

With the average person spending 15 minutes a day searching for lost items*, the unique in-vehicle app promises to put an end to this wasted time. Once the app is initiated using the central touchscreen, customers are alerted if specified items are not inside the vehicle and are even able to get on-screen directions to their last known location.

Peter Virk, Jaguar Land Rover’s Director of Connected Technologies & Apps, said,  “Losing your wallet or leaving your child’s sports kit behind isn’t just an inconvenience. The realisation you’ve mislaid something important can be a cause of distraction. Our unique partnership with Tile means customers can check the status of tagged items using Discovery Sport’s touchscreen, so forgotten items will be a thing of the past.”

Jaguar Land Rover is the first automotive company to integrate Tile with its in-car entertainment system. The partnership allows customers to establish a list of ‘Essentials’ using the vehicle touchscreen, which are always checked when the app is initiated. If items are lost inside the vehicle, customers are able to sound a 90-decibel alarm on the Tile tag, to help locate them.

Mike Farley, CEO of Tile, said, “We’re really excited to be partnering with Jaguar Land Rover. We believe this integration will provide many benefits such as improved assurance and peace of mind about the whereabouts of essential items, helping drivers save time before they embark on journeys. Having increased the number of Tiles in circulation from two million to over five million in the last six months alone, we are confident of the extensive advantages this will bring to Jaguar Land Rover customers globally.”

The Tile smartphone app is compatible with both Android and Apple platforms and the number of items that can be tracked is limitless.

Premium Design Enhancements

New for the 2017 Discovery Sport is a Graphite Pack which comprises a Dark Atlas colour finish to the grille, bonnet script and side vents, a Corris Grey contrast roof and Narvik Black mirror caps. The Graphite Pack is available as an option on SE and SE Tech derivatives and includes a new 19-inch wheel option.

Gerry McGovern, Chief Design Officer, said: “Our customers want their vehicles to stand out and expect a wide range of personalisation options. With its polished finishes the additional Graphite Pack gives our compact SUV a uniquely distinctive appearance”.

New 2017 Discovery Sport is also available in four new body colours: Silicon Silver, Farallon Black, Carpathian Grey and Aruba metallic finishes. The premium compact SUV is manufactured at Jaguar Land Rover’s award-winning Halewood plant in the UK and is on sale now with prices starting from £31,095.

Cutting-Edge Convenience Technology

Jaguar Land Rover’s updated InControl Touch Pro infotainment system is at the heart of the technological additions. The new set-up provides a larger 10.2-inch touchscreen and intuitive menus, replicating the look and feel of smartphone apps and allowing users to swipe and pinch, just as they would on a tablet.

The screen does not require any ‘hard’ buttons and provides a super-wide 21:9 format with higher resolution than the standard 8-inch touchscreen. In addition, the increased pixel-count provides superior clarity when using the dual-screen option, ensuring neither driver nor passenger sacrifices screen quality.

InControl Touch Pro’s state-of-the art capability is delivered through a combination of a super-fast access 60GB Solid State Drive (SSD), which is around 100 per cent faster than a typical hard disc drive (HDD) and is the first automotive use of Intel’s high-performance Quad-Core computing and graphics processor.

Advanced Safety Systems

Complementing the enhanced design, convenience and technology features fitted to the 2017 Discovery Sport is a trio of new safety systems.

Driver Condition Monitor alerts the driver via visual and audible warnings if it detects signs of drowsiness. The vehicle algorithm, which continuously monitors driver inputs looking for signs of fatigue, helps to ensure safe driving.

Intelligent Speed Limiter helps drivers to keep to the speed limit. The system takes advantage of the Traffic Sign Recognition feature to detect changes to the prevailing limit. When a change occurs, the driver is prompted to accept the new maximum speed limit. Once accepted the vehicle will automatically begin to slow the vehicle to the required speed.

Lane Keep Assist uses the forward-facing camera on the vehicle to detect lane markings. If the driver begins to veer out of their lane without indicating, the vehicle will gently counter-steer to ensure it does not leave its lane unintentionally.

The updated Discovery Sport is available to order now in the UK from £31,095 on the road.

The Land Rover Discovery Sport has become the best selling product within the brand, 100,000th on Mothers Day.

• Land Rover marks the production of its 100,000^th Discovery Sport in Halewood, UK, with a surprise for one lucky mum on Mother’s Day
• Land Rover designers and engineers go undercover with Lipton family to produce a Discovery Sport filled with unique, personalised touches
• Milestone for Land Rover’s versatile compact SUV produced exactly 500 days after production commenced in October 2014
• Success ensures three shift production continues at Jaguar Land Rover’s Halewood plant

Land Rover today marked the production of the 100,000^th Discovery Sport with a special surprise for one mum, Natalie Lipton, on Mother’s Day. The Lipton family had unwittingly purchased the milestone vehicle which was built at Jaguar Land Rover’s Halewood manufacturing plant, just 10 miles from their family home. 

To celebrate the milestone, which was reached just days before Mother’s Day in the UK, Land Rover went undercover with 7 year old Jacob and 5 year old Noah to find out just how this car could be made even more special for their mum.

Accompanied by Paul Cleaver, Discovery Sport Vehicle Programme Director and Andy Wheel, Land Rover’s Chief Design Manager for Exteriors, the Lipton boys had an access-all-areas tour of the company’s Design and Engineering Centre at Gaydon. From experiencing driving virtual cars to developing clay models, Noah and Jacob provided the team with lots of inspiration and ideas for making this car special for mum Natalie.

Paul Cleaver said: “It’s fantastic that the Discovery Sport has reached this significant milestone. To know that this car has resonated with customers across the world is a testament to the whole team involved in its creation and delivery.

“The Discovery Sport is a truly versatile family car so it’s fitting that we are celebrating with such a special project from the Land Rover family to the Lipton family. It was fantastic meeting Noah and Jacob, they were enthusiastic, energetic and full of great ideas – definitely budding future car designers!”

To bring the boys’ ideas to life, a team of designers, suppliers and experts from Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations worked to create special touches which were delivered lineside and placed in the car during production by the team at the Halewood manufacturing plant in Merseyside. Halewood officially began production of Discovery Sport in October 2015 thanks to a £200mn investment which bought an additional 250 jobs to the plant, ensuring three shift, 24 hour production. The 100,000^th car, a Corris Grey HSE, rolled off the production line on February 29^th, exactly 500 days after the first.

Richard Else, Halewood Operation Director said: “It is with an enormous sense of pride that the team here builds the Discovery Sport alongside the Range Rover Evoque. The introduction of these models has seen production at the plant quadruple and our workforce treble since 2010.

“This milestone, just like the 500,000th Evoque which came off the line in February, is a reminder that the Halewood manufacturing plant is responsible for bringing exceptional cars to customers in all four corners of the globe. I am however delighted that it is a mum, and her family, who live only a stone’s throw from our plant that have taken delivery of this very special car.”   

The Discovery Sport which went on sale in December 2014 is now sold in over 170 markets, with the UK, Europe and China leading the charge. The car has already claimed more than 40 international awards including, most recently, Large SUV of the Year as determined by the What Car? Car of the Year jury.

List of Mum’s Personalised Gifts

• Personalised scarf designed by children Noah, Jacob and Mila (featuring their hand prints and drawings) and produced by Land Rover design
• Personalised picnic blanket with the family name on, requested as the children love family picnics with their mum
• Personalised seat-back tidies for the children, to ensure it is kept clean for mum and dad
• Personalised tread-plates featuring 'The Liptons' name
• Personalised water bottles for all the family written in the children's handwriting
• Personalised child-seats for Noah and Jacob, with their names stitched on in their handwriting
• Rear-seat entertainment screens, to entertain the children on long journeys
• A signed cookbook from James Martin, as mum loves to cook
• A set of wellies for each member of the family, for their family walks
• A Barbour for Land Rover Jacket for mum
• A keyring featuring a favourite family snap

About Discovery Sport

The Land Rover Discovery Sport is the world's most versatile and capable premium compact SUV. The first member of the new Discovery family, Discovery Sport, features 5+2 seating in a footprint no larger than existing 5-seat premium SUVs. 

• One in every four Land Rovers produced is a Discovery Sport
• It would require a fleet of 36 seven-seat Land Rover Discovery Sports to accommodate the additional 250 people working at Halewood with jobs created by the introduction of Discovery Sport production
• A new Discovery Sport rolls off the production line every 2mins and 40 secs. That’s 33 brand new Discovery Sports in the time it takes to play a football match.
• 500 days of Discovery: The 100,000th Discovery Sport rolled off the Halewood line on 29 February 2016, precisely 500 days after the commencement of production.