Land Rover announces partnership with Virgin Galactic at new Concept launch

Land Rover has used the launch of the new Land Rover Discovery Vision Concept at the New York Motor Show to announce a partnership with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial spaceline.

Land Rover vehicles will be used by Virgin Galactic’s ‘astronauts’ at the company’s test centre in the Mojave Desert, California and at the actual base for space flights, Spaceport America in New Mexico. The cars will even be used to ferry passengers from the terminal to the spaceship itself.

The announcement was made alongside the reveal of the new Discovery Vision Concept in New York, which took place on board former aircraft carrier USS Intrepid and in the shadow of the Space Shuttle Enterprise.

Speaking about the partnership, Richard Branson said: “We couldn’t be more delighted to have Land Rover join us on our incredible journey. It is hard to think of a brand which is more synonymous with exploration and adventure. We look forward to crossing the final frontier together and to a long and fruitful partnership.”

According to Land Rover, the partnership will go further than just supplying vehicles and will be used to encourage young people to take an interest in engineering and science. Phil Popham, Jaguar Land Rover’s group marketing director told us: “Not only do we both share the same long-term vision to enable mankind to explore, but we also want to develop this partnership to inspire others.  From our tens of thousands of employees and customers to schools and colleges, motivating more young people to pursue careers in engineering, science, technology and maths - and explore new ways of travelling for future generations.”

Virgin Galactic has already taken over $85million in deposits from 700 people wanting to go into space aboard VSS Enterprise. In spite of other companies aiming to offer space tourism, Virgin Galactic says it is on target to be the world’s first commercial spaceline.