The Land Rover colour palette now offers myriad options, including the truly bespoke
Colour is hugely important to consumers, from purchasing a tie to selecting a new vehicle.
Aside from practical considerations, the choice of colour is influenced by all manner of factors: the personality of the purchaser; the vagaries of fashion; and the customer’s cultural background.
In South America, for example, red is the colour of success, in Europe it is more likely to signify love, while in China it signifies luck. Staying with China, yellow is considered the colour of royalty, whereas in many Western countries, it signifies fun and happiness.
Then there are colours that have always had a special significance. A good example is blue, which has had significant importance throughout the ages – dating back to 4,500BC in Mesopotamia. These days, deeper blue shades are linked to royalty and premium brands.
Customer choice is increasing all the time, and new pigment and application technologies allow a much broader range of exterior colours to be offered.
Land Rover has been researching and developing colours since the company started making vehicles 65 years ago, and now the team at the design centre in England uses intensive research and expertise in extending choice and predicting the colours customers will be demanding in years to come.
“Inspiration can come from anywhere – a sweet wrapper, bottle top, watch or even a building can all provide the spark for the design team to start developing new colours,” says Land Rover’s principal colour designer, Mel McWhirter.
"Inspiration can come from anywhere – a bottle top, watch or building can provide the spark to start developing new colours"
Land Rover’s colour palette has changed dramatically in the years since that first vehicle was launched. The legendary Huey (so-called because of its HUE 166 number plate) was painted the kind of green that pointed to its military inspiration. Since then, Land Rover vehicles have appeared in a huge number of colours and the current palette ranges across the spectrum, in both metallic and non-metallic finishes.
“Land Rover has traditionally named its colours geographically, after places, regions, towns and bodies of water. Blues are named after oceans or rivers, oranges and yellows after deserts. One of the latest is Corris Grey, named after a slate-mining area in Wales,” says Mel.
Currently there are over 45 exterior colour finishes available across the Land Rover vehicle range, not forgetting the extensive choice of interior colour options and combinations. And that’s not all. For customers who desire a truly individual experience, Land Rover’s Engineered To Order division can offer almost any colour imaginable as a bespoke exterior finish.
So, should you wish to match your all-new Range Rover Sport to your favourite suit, your Discovery to a field of lavender or your Defender to a glass of Château Petrus, the choice is yours.
LAND ROVER CELEBRATES ITS ALL-TERRAIN CAPABILITY BY NAMING ITS UNIQUE COLOURS AFTER SOME OF THE WORLD'S
MOST BREATHTAKING LANDSCAPES
