1991 Range Rover

Number built 3,471 U.S. (not counting the 409 GDEs built to 1990 specs.) (16,624 Worldwide)
First 1991 built August 29, 1990 (except the GDE model, that was built to 1990 specs. but sold as a 1991)
Last 8 digits of first 1991 U.S. Spec. Range Rover VIN MA465228
Base Price $44,475 (increase of $5,900 from 1990)
Curb Weight 4,401 lbs. (increase of 12 lbs. from 1990) Hunter was less than the 4,400 lbs.
Gross Vehicle Weight 5997 lbs.

Powertrain Changes:

All now have the 21.6 gal. deformable plastic fuel tank with integrated pump/sending unit. (except the GDE model that was built to 1990 specs. and has the old 20 gal tank) The larger tank wrapped over the frame and occupied the space of the old fuel filter (part #0450905030) and different fuel filter (part #ESR3117) was used, and it was mounted farther forward on the frame. A new fuel filler pipe was used to reach the new filler location, a different gas cap was used (NTC 5418)

Photo: All 1991 Range Rovers had the new fuel tank with the filler moved to the top of the rear quarter panel (owners of older models can appreciate this advantage -- it was hard to get the tank full without overflowing if the vehicle was on even a slight slope). The vehicle pictured here to illustrate this point is actually a 1992 model belonging to Greg Gryllakis.

Chassis and Suspension Changes:
Front and rear sway bars on all models except the Hunter (25mm front, 18.5mm rear). Models with sway bars had single rate (150 lb./in.) rear springs replace the dual rate rear springs, softer bushings installed in the front trailing arms, and different shocks with softer damping characteristics. The sway bars slightly reduced available wheel travel (axle articulation). A new plastic undercoating was used this year. Base models had gray painted wheels. A swivel roller bearing was installed (after VIN MA601607) for improved steering feel, this was on the new lower steering shaft (part #NTC8478). The lower steering universal joint was also redesigned (part #NRC7387). All have an access panel in the rear load area to allow the fuel pump to be replaced without removing the fuel tank (except the GDE model that was built to 1990 specs).

Exterior Changes:
Available Paint Colors: Alpine White, Aspen Silver Metallic, Roman Bronze Metallic, Westminster Gray Micatallic, Clearwater Blue Micatallic, Ardennes Green Micatallic, Trocadero Red Micatallic, Available only on the County SE was Beluga Black Clear Coat (1991 Color and Upholstery Guide says Beluga Black is a “Limited Availability” color). The Hunter models were painted Alpine White, Eastnor Green, Arran Beige, and Portofino Red. Other colors were not available on the Hunter, and except for Alpine White the other three Hunter colors were only available on the Hunter.
All 1991’s (including County SE) had black bumpers
Fuel door was smaller and higher on the body due to the new larger tank this year.
Glass sunroof with sliding screen and CD changer optional on all models (glass sunroof may have been standard on all except Hunter)
Canadian Models had daytime running lights and engine block heater with plug in front spoiler.

Accessories and options offered by the dealers included: A choice of three brush guards in both black or polished aluminum (one was the GDE brush guard/bumper combo), body side moldings with Range Rover logo, sunroof air deflector, five spoke GDE/County SE wheels and the painting of wheel centers body color. A roof rack system made by Thule was sold by the dealer.

Available Interior Colors: Winchester Gray and Sorrell Brown leather Brogue Brown cloth on Hunter
Sound Insulation was increased this year. All interiors were leather in 1991 (except Hunter).
Front door locks are now heated
Auto dim rear view mirror and burl walnut was standard (on all except Hunter)
All (except Hunter) had Pioneer premium sound system with subwoofer. All vehicles wired for rear CD changer, Fuel filler release is added to the steering column and the fuel door is no longer part of the central locking system. Recessed rear seat belt anchor points.
All except Hunter had wood on dash and center console like 1989-1990 County.
Steel loadspace floor replaces aluminum and it now has an access panel to get to the fuel pump without removing the fuel tank or the entire loadspace floor.
Vinyl connected the carpet in the rear loadspace area to the carpet on the tailgate covering the tailgate hinges

Accessories offered by the dealers included: half and full length plastic loadspace protectors, (the plastic loadspace protectors would not fit models with CD players) waterproof seat covers with storage bag.

Price was $7,950 (Kelley Blue Book) or $6,500 (Four Wheeler) LESS than the standard model. The Hunter was introduced as a lower cost model for those who appreciated the Range Rovers off road ability but did not want to pay the rapidly escalating price of the fully equipped U.S. models. Despite having the same name (and tailgate sticker) the 1991 Hunter was different from the 1989 Hunter sold in the U.S. The 405 Hunter models sold in 1991 had LESS equipment than the standard 1991 models, while the 120 Hunter models sold in 1989 had MORE equipment that the standard 1989 model, but not as much as the top of the line County (see 1989 section for more information). The 1991 Hunter did not have ABS anti lock brakes or sway bars like all the other 1991 models (the GDE did not have sway bars because it was built to 1990 specs) but it still had the vented front rotors introduced in 1990. Due to the lack of the sway bars, ABS brakes, power seats (and on most Hunters) a sunroof, they weighed over 100 lbs less than other 1991 Range Rovers. The exterior of the Hunter was finished in one of four solid colors (Alpine White, Eastnor Green, Arran Beige, and Portofino Red) metallic and micatallic paints were not available on the Hunter. The Hunter did not have the plastic front air dam with fog lights, but had the small plastic air deflector from the European Base and Diesel models, or a sunroof (the sunroof was available as a $1,500 option). Inside the Hunter had Brogue Brown cloth seats without power adjustment (the 1991 Hunter is the only Range Rover ever imported to the U.S. by RRNA/LRNA without power seats). All came with a dog guard between the back seat and the load area. The Hunter did not have a hard loadspace cover like all other NAS Range Rovers, but had a less expensive luggage net. The shelf over the jack area was different from other Range Rovers and would have to be replaced if the owner wanted to add a hard loadspace cover. The wheels were painted light silver (the same color as the outer rim on other Range Rovers), to save money the Hunter did not have the second coat of darker silver or body color on the wheel centers, and they came with Goodyear Wrangler tires that were less expensive than the Michelin XMS tires on other Range Rovers. The Hunter had a has a sticker on the tailgate of a person riding English style on a horse jumping over the letter H in Hunter. The word Hunter was in the same script as the word County on the back of the 1989-1992 County models. The 1991 Hunter model has the same sticker on the tailgate as the 1989 model. A total of 525 Hunters were sold (120 in 1989 and 405 in 1991) The stripped down Hunter was not popular with the typical Range Rover buyer (see average income below) and many 1991 Hunters were upgraded at the by the U.S. dealers (or by their owners) with items such as front spoilers, sway bars and power seats. RRNA used many of the hard to sell vehicles as company cars and later sold them on dealer used car lots.

They still had the County decal in script on the right hand side of the tailgate, but special County wheel center caps and dash medallion with the word County in script that were on 1989 and 1990 County models were no longer part of the County package. Inside all Countys had burled walnut wood, power glass moon roof, and a two-stage auto-dimming rear view mirror. Standard County models had the same sound system as the 1990 County.

Price was $2,500 (Kelley Blue Book), $3,400 (Car & Driver), or $4,300 (Motor Trend) more than the base model. The County SE was introduced as new top of the line model and was only available in Beluga Black. It had the same 5 spoke alloy wheels as the GDE with silver or black painted spokes (most were painted black). It had a County SE decal in script on the right hand side of the tailgate. The County medallion on the dash was eliminated to make room for the a/d/s/ subwoofer level control that was added to the dash next to the radio. Inside all the County SE’s had burled walnut wood, power glass moon roof, and a two-stage auto-dimming rear view mirror. The Pioneer sound system (with weatherband) was specially developed for the American market, it had a 150 watt amp and eight a/d/s/ speakers and a subwoofer in the right rear of the cargo area below the CD changer and amplifier. All had a black painted aluminum brush bar with removable head lamp guards and black lamp guards over the rear lights (the tail lamp guards may have been a $178 dealer installed option and not part of the factory package).

James Howard from the West Coast “Mendo” list posted some information on the a/d/s/ sound system. Here is his story of the a/d/s sound system installed in Range Rover Classics starting in 199(1?) with the County SE model.

The a/d/s system was designed and put together in the US, and shipped to Baltimore where they were installed on the Rovers after they entered the US. The same people also installed various other options such as brush bars. The quality of the installation was not always the best, particularly with the air seal around the 4" speakers in the doors. Air leaks here can cause rattling sounds. They can be fixed with self sticking foam weather seal tape. The early systems used a subwoofer made by a/d/s. It is a black painted wooden box. In 1993, this was changed to a black ABS plastic subwoofer made by ELAC in the UK. This was installed at the factory. A tweak a/d/s suggested to Land Rover was to cut out the black plastic grill molded into the vent of this subwoofer. The grill has 1/4" thick bars that can cause turbulence. Land Rover opted not to do this, so it is left as an exercise for the owner. Check for air leaks where the two plastic halfs of the box are bolted together. Adding some noise abatement material such as Dynamat to the walls will reduce flex and damp resonance. The amplifier in the 1993 models was an a/d/s PH11. Any replacement amp should be a five or six channel device that incorporates an active crossover with adjustable frequencies. The high pass to the front speakers is ~ 120Hz. The rear high pass was ~ 170Hz. The low pass to the subwoofer was ~ 90 Hz. There is an intentional gap between the high and low passes, which reduces the cabin resonance that overemphasizes the output in the midbass region. The RR head unit was built by Pioneer and puts out a nominal 4V signal, which is high by aftermarket standards. However most aftermarket amps can handle this by turning the input level controls down to an appropriate level. The speakers can handle up to about 50 watts.

Price was $600 more than the County model. The Great Divide Edition was named after the August 1989 Great Divide Expedition, a 13 day, 1,123-mile trip along the Continental Divide sponsored by RRNA for the press. A limited edition of 400 were made according to press releases and only 400 have the numbered plaques in the door jambs. A total of 409 GDE models were built (the NAS parts manual lists all the VIN #s). The extra 9 GDEs were used for promotional purposes by RRNA. One of the 9 was loaned to the Death Valley Park Rangers for patrol duties and had the optional factory winch hidden under the front bumper, ranger decals, and a red and blue highway patrol style light bar on the roof. All were built in 1990 to 1990 (LA) model specs, and were Gread Divide Edition

sold in the summer of 1990 as 1991 models with 1991 (MA) VINs. All were painted Alpine white with Sorrell (light) brown leather interiors. They had a large round Great Divide sticker on the tailgate and a numbered brass plaque in the drivers door jamb. They all had rear lamp guards and a special black painted aluminum front bumper with integrated brush bar (some had dealer installed winches). They did not have the plastic front air dam with fog lights, but had the small plastic air deflector from the European Base and Turbo Diesel models. They were the first US Range Rovers with the 5 spoke wheels (painted smoke gray) that were originally designed as an option for the Discovery in Europe. Inside they were the only U.S. Range Rovers to have pebble dot perforated leather upholstery. They also had a sunroof, auto dim rear view mirror, and American walnut on the doors, dash and center console. The front page of the GDE owners manual had a sticker that says NOTE: This limited Production Range Rover has a special equipment package giving it unique character and appeal. Not all of the equipment described in the Owner's Manual is installed on the Great Divide Edition Vehicle. Specifically the references to the front spoiler, engine undertray, and fog lamps do not apply to this vehicle. The fog lamp switch and wiring is installed on the vehicle.

According to Jim Allen, International automotive journalist (and former Land Rover mechanic) RRNA took a 1991 Hunter with Arran Beige paint, added roof rack and bull bar, etc., and called it the DSE. They only made one, however, before (according to Jim) “they finally came to their senses”.

A Great Divide Edition (with a winch) was lent to the Death Valley Park Rangers for patrol duties by RRNA.

Land Rover changed from a unified VIN system to a model specific VIN system January 1991

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Page revised February 10, 2012