Land Rover has entered into a long-term global partnership with Richard Branson’s commercial spaceline, Virgin Galactic.

The alliance was announced against the backdrop of SpaceShipTwo, the world’s first commercial passenger-carrying spacecraft, together with Land Rover’s new Discovery Vision Concept vehicle.

The partnership will see Land Rover vehicles become part of daily life for the Virgin Galactic team and for all ‘future astronauts’, whereby the space experience will now begin with Land Rover as they arrive in New Mexico for training, and will continue to the moment they drive from the space terminal building to the waiting spaceship.

Land Rover will base a fleet of vehicles at the Virgin Galactic test centre in the Mojave Desert, California, and at its astounding operational New Mexico base, Spaceport America.

The concept car previews dynamic new design language and an array of world-first technologies. Building on Land Rover’s renowned all-terrain capability, the Discovery Vision Concept represents the ultimate SUV of the future. The vehicle uses augmented reality technology to display a ‘see-through’ view of the terrain ahead, making the front of the car ‘virtually’ invisible from inside the cabin.

Gesture Control allows you to open the doors, operate the indicators or turn on the headlamps simply by moving your hand, while Laser Referencing projects visible markings, symbols and imagery onto the ground to aid low speed or tricky manoeuvres.

Phil Popham, Group marketing director of Jaguar Land Rover, said: “This is a marriage of two of Britain’s most iconic brands who celebrate shared values, a pioneering spirit and a true sense of adventure. 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 math - and explore new ways of travelling for future generations. Land Rover’s heart beats ‘above and beyond’ – we are pioneers on land and Virgin Galactic is the pioneer of space. It’s a very special match of brands with a shared vision.”

Abdimajid Haithar, general manager of Mahmoudia Motors - the sole and official dealer of the Jaguar Land Rover brand in Jordan – stated: “We would like to congratulate Jaguar Land Rover on this pioneering partnership, which reaffirms the company’s leading position in the global market and proves, yet again, its ability to cater to the demands of a broad customer base.” – TradeArabia News Service