19 April 2001: Land Rover has launched a new 'Kalahari' vehicle series at the New York International Automobile Show as a version of the 2002 Land Rover Discovery Series II.

The vehicle goes on sale in October of this year in the US, and is the first in a series of special Kalahari Land Rovers that will feature heavy-duty, off-road components and a rugged, extreme look.

The series was inspired by a Land Rover Adventure called 'The Great Kalahari' – one of 20 ongoing Land Rover Adventures programmes that are held throughout the world for Land Rover owners. The name will eventually be used for special editions from all Land Rover model lines sold in North America.”

The Discovery Kalahari features a Borrego Yellow paint scheme and an array of off-road equipment including a Saudi/Gulf states front bumper and grille; black seating surfaces with Tetra technical fabric center panels; a black steel wraparound brush bar and lamp guards; a black steel rear ladder; and a matching roof rack finished in black steel and equipped with a steel mesh floor.

Discovery Kalahari comes with a 188-horsepower, 4.0-litre aluminum V8 engine, a four-speed automatic transmission, permanent four-wheel drive with a two-speed transfer case, Hill Descent Control (HDC), four-wheel electronic traction control (4ETC) and a four-channel, all-terrain Anti-lock Braking System (ABS).

Land Rover’s Active Cornering Enhancement (ACE) and Self-Leveling Suspension (SLS) systems are optional. A special-appearance package and a badge stamped with the vehicle’s limited-production build number complete the Kalahari specification.

Only 150 Discovery Series II Kalahari vehicles will be produced for the 2002 model year. BB

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