Legos, leaping dogs, and more: Cool things about the 2018 Land Rover Discovery

The Land Rover Discovery is back in the United States. We had the LR3 and the LR4, but now, we're getting the most off-road focused member of the Land Rover family back under the Disco name. We've hit the highlights in our first look story, but here's a few things we learned at an event on the eve of the Paris Motor Show.

First things first: There's a First Edition, which starts at $74,945. Just 529 copies will come to the US market, though about 2,400 total First Editions will be sold around the world. It comes with the 3.0-liter supercharged 340-horsepower V6 engine, more standard equipment than the other models, maps detailed into the aluminum trim on the doors and the dashboard, custom color choices, and special badges. The base Disco starts at $50,985, and you still get the potent V6. A 254-hp diesel V6 also joins the lineup. The vehicle launched in mid-2017.

Dogs designed the tailgate: Okay, that's not true. But an engineer brought his golden retriever, Sammy, to work one day to help with the height and angle. Sammy even was the subject of computer modeling. The tailgate is a departure from the horizontally split doors that started with the third-gen Disco, though the first one in 1989 had a side-hinged door. The new model has a fold-down section that adds 11.2 inches of outward space – perfect for perching during a tailgate. It also can support 661.4 pounds, so a couple hefty lineman can join your pre-game spread.

Speaking of the tailgate, the new Disco gets an activity key like the one on the F-Pace. Just unlock the vehicle by placing the wristband on the D in Discovery in back. Meanwhile, Sammy's leaps are helped by the Discovery's adjustable height. It drops 0.6 inches when the vehicle is turned off or a passenger undoes their seatbelt. It dips another inch when a door is opened. Good for Sammy and humans.

You're probably wondering about the picture of London's Tower Bridge built from Legos. So, far away from Paris, Land Rover staged another Discovery reveal in the England, complete with Discos set on a re-creation of the bridge. More than 5.8 million Legos were used, breaking the previous Guinness record by more than 470,000 pieces. It's the largest Lego structure ever built. Why wouldn't you do that to reveal an SUV?

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