Even before the 'Land-Rover' had been launched a new version of it was being considered; a 4x4 vehicle with comfort. The Land-Rover was a hastily developed vehicle to help Rover re-start production after the war and to generate exports. It was expected that the austere Land-Rover would lose customers when prosperity returned and that a more car-like four wheel drive vehicle should be developed. The 'Road Rover' was the answer with running versions from 1951, and a Road Rover II was close to production in 1958. In 1964 after Spen King had joined Rover he teamed up with Gordon Bashford on the 'Road Rover' and together they turned this into the 'Range Rover'. From 1967 the Range Rover mould was set, and when David Bache was asked to finalise the design he did little other than tidy up the grille and lights because the simple and classless design needed little attention. In June 1970 the Range Rover was launched, using the Rover 3528cc V8 engine and a two-door body that had a split tailgate. Very quickly it was realised that the Range Rover was an entirely new kind of vehicle, and it didn't take long for it to be regarded as a prestige motor rather than a mud plugger; the 'Chelsea Tractor' was born. After sanctioning 2 different 4-door conversions, Rover launched its own Range Rover 4-door in 1981 and 2-door models quickly faded away after that. In 1986 the vertically slotted grille gave way to a more pdestrian-friendly hirizontal bar plastic grille as part of a refresh. In 1989 a new dashboard and 3.9litre version of the V8 engine was given to the Range Rover. The 100inch wheelbase had been adequate for all factory Range Rovers until 1992 when the LWB (108inch) Range Rover was offered against the various after market lengthened versions. When the Range Rover was replaced in 1994 by the P38a model, the 'original' Range Rover continued in production as the 'Range Rover Classic'.