I recently watched a film on Netflix, called Extraction II. This was an action-packed sequel starring Chris Hemsworth and a lot of cars, and when I say a lot, I mean a lot of cars.

The whole film was like a car advert featuring G Class Mercedes, tons of new Volkswagens but most importantly some Land Rovers. There is a lovely placement for a 2023 Defender in a scene with Idris Elba, but also a Discovery 4 in a chase scene. And seeing these cars in this film made me think, what are some famous appearances in film by Land Rover?

CARS 2

In no particular order we start with animated Range Rovers from the film Cars 2. The film is partially set in England and features a car version of the Queen, who has a barricade of bodyguards, of which are all Range Rover P38a’s. Also, the Queen’s Guard is represented by a 1962 Series IIa. It’s nice to see that a very American film chose an apt car to represent the military elements of British culture, what with Land Rover’s deep embedded connection to the military.

THE ITALIAN JOB

The next film you wouldn’t necessarily associate with Land Rover, instead you would choose another famous British car manufacturer in Mini, however the Land Rover plays a very important role.

The film is The Italian Job, and whilst it made the iconic Mini iconic, it never would have happened if it weren’t for the kitted-out Series II that blasts through the Italian streets to get them to their eventual getaway cars. But this is very apt for a Land Rover, just getting the job done properly and never asking for any of the glory.

TOMB RAIDER

One of the more iconic and recognisable Land Rovers in film has to be the customised Defender TD5 110 from Tomb Raider.

Angelina Jolie played the character Lara Croft, an adventuring archaeologist who gets into all sorts of scrapes. The Defender is the perfect fit for the character, helping her through all sorts of treacherous conditions, whilst still making her look badass. The car was customised by Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Division, adding tons of accessories to aid her on her expeditions.

JUDGE DREDD

This next one we mentioned in the facts blog (https://blog.famousfour.co.uk/uncategorized/7-interesting-facts-you-may-not-know-about-land-rover/) but it has to be mentioned in this list as well, as it is by far the most interesting looking Land Rover on film. We are of course, referring to the 2139 CityCab from Judge Dredd.

The film is set in a futuristic New York known as Mega City One and the traditional New York Taxi has been replaced by this beast of a vehicle. Based on a 101 Forward Control, these 31 of these cars were made for the film, however most of them were reverted back, leaving only a handful of these cars still in existence.

EON’s JAMES BOND FRANCHISE

This next film isn’t a singular film, instead a franchise and most people would think of the infamous Aston Martins, but Land Rover have had cars featured in 10 James Bond Films, meaning Land Rover has been in more Bond films than any of the Bond actors. Land Rovers have appeared in Octopussy, A View To A Kill, The Living Daylights, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, SPECTRE and No Time To Die.

The first appearance was in the 1983 film Octopussy and it was a Range Rover Rapport Huntsman, a 3-door convertible take on the classic Range Rover. The latest film features a fair few cars but most importantly 3 Defenders, 2 Range Rover Sport SVRs, a Range Rover Classic and Land Rover Series III.

GET CARTER

Many times, the car in film is just a cameo and is easily replaced, however in the film Get Carter, the Land Rover 109 Series II Station Wagon appears quite frequently as it is driven around by criminals chasing the protagonist, Jack Carter.

That same car is later used by the police during an arrest scene, in which the Land Rover is like Mary Poppins handbag with a seemingly never-ending supply of officers getting out, showing the roominess of the Station Wagon version.

In my short time looking into this topic, I have found hundreds of examples of Land Rover’s being used in films; Charlies Angels, Gemini Man, SAS: Red Notice, Tenet, 6 Underground, Fantasy Island just to name a few and all of those are from the last 5 years, so this is a rabbit hole we are going to leave here for now. Let us know your favourite Land Rover cameo in a film and if you want us to do a part 2.