All-new Land Rover Discovery makes debut on giant Lego Tower Bridge

(September 29, 2016) SOLIHULL, England — Land Rover has revealed the fifth -generation full-size Discovery SUV by breaking a Guinness World Record for the largest LEGO structure ever built. Long-term Land Rover Discovery owners Bear Grylls, Sir Ben Ainslie and Zara Phillips MBE took part in the dynamic live reveal of the most versatile Land Rover vehicle around a 42.6-foot high LEGO version of London’s Tower Bridge.

The all-new Discovery embodies the Land Rover drive to go Above and Beyond, combining British desirability with an unstoppable spirit of adventure. It is highly desirable, combining capability and technology in new and unique ways for the Land Rover brand.

Gerry McGovern, Land Rover chief design officer, said, “the all-new Discovery redefines the full-size SUV. The Land Rover design and engineering teams have revolutionized the DNA of Discovery to create a highly desirable, extremely versatile and hugely capable premium SUV.”



Everyday ingenuity has been at the heart of the Discovery for the last 27 years, with more than 1.2 million customers to date. The fifth-generation Discovery is for the digital age.  Ingenious technology assists drivers and keeps passengers connected and confident on a variety of surfaces, terrains and weather conditions to help ensure their destination is reached.

The fifth-generation model benefits from a Land Rover architecture that is both strong and lightweight delivering comfort and adaptability like no other Discovery before it.

The reveal set was made from 5,805,846 individual LEGO bricks; breaking the previous Guinness World Record by 470,646 pieces. Laid end to end, the bricks would stretch for almost 200 miles, or from Tower Bridge in London to Paris.

Led by the UK’s only LEGO Certified Professional, Duncan Titmarsh, it took five months for expert LEGO Master Builders in the UK to construct the incredible Tower Bridge structure. It was erected in the grounds of Packington Hall, Warwickshire, UK — close to the Land Rover plant in Solihull, where the all-new Discovery will be produced.

As part of the dramatic reveal sequence, British adventurer Grylls appeared in typically exciting fashion by abseiling from the top of the huge Tower Bridge installation, through the open drawbridge and onto the stage beside the all-new Discovery.

The finale was Land Rover BAR Team Principal Sir Ben Ainslie driving his sailing team through 35-inch-deep water under the bridge — demonstrating the water fording capability of the fifth-generation Discovery. Sir Ben towed a LEGO replica of the Land Rover BAR boat, a meticulously recreated 186,500-brick model of the boat that will challenge for next year’s America’s Cup.

The model of Tower Bridge was flanked by two LEGO ‘Discovery Zones’ celebrating 27 years of Land Rover Discovery heritage. An Equestrian Zone, hosted by accomplished rider Zara Phillips, featured a typically British picnic scene made entirely from LEGO bricks. The Bear Grylls Adventure Zone included a LEGO fire and boulders to represent a scene from a typical mountain exploration.

The all-new Discovery represents the next step in the journey of transformation from cogs to code for the Land Rover brand. The latest Discovery has been designed, engineered and manufactured with the help of some of the 1,300 talented young engineers currently enrolled in the company’s leading training programs. Jaguar Land Rover is one of UK's leading recruiters of graduates and apprentices, 3,000 have joined in the past six years and 400 new recruits have started in 2016.