Land Rover discovery expedition to cross 13 countries

Jaguar Land Rover\'s Solihull manufacturing plant in the UK has just produced its 1,000,000th Land Rover Discovery, to mark this occasion - Land Rover will display the Discovery’s unique versatility and breadth of capability by embarking on an expedition from the vehicle’s birthplace in Birmingham, UK - to one of its fastest growing markets, Beijing in China. The extensive journey comprises of 12,800 kilometres, crossing 13 countries in 50 days - a team of four Land Rover Experience experts will tackle all weather, all terrain in the one millionth Discovery. The challenge follows in the tyre tracks of \'The First Overland Expedition\' of 1955, in which a team in Series 1 Land Rovers set out from Birmingham to Beijing. That expedition had to divert to Singapore, but in the spirit of the original challenge the Discovery will be crossing many of Land Rover\'s major markets including the UK, Russia and China. Phil Popham, Group Sales Operations Director, Jaguar Land Rover said: \"Discovery is an extraordinary vehicle and it deserves to be unleashed on an extraordinary journey. There is no better vehicle to tackle all weather, all terrain than the Discovery 4. This grueling expedition will be visiting 13 countries and covering 8,000 miles, and it\'s a fitting initiative to celebrate the one millionth vehicle.\" The expedition also has a very noble cause behind it. It aims to raise 1million pounds for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Land Rover\'s most ambitious fundraising project ever. The Discover from Land Rover has managed to up its sales by 16% this year, which is a significant milestone for the United Kingdom based manufacturer. 83% of these sales are achieved overseas. The Journey of Discovery launched with help from a number of renowned experienced explorers who have all used the Land Rover Discovery in their adventures - including Bear Grylls, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Ray Mears, Monty Halls and Polar explorer Ben Saunders.