Land Rover and the Red Cross design car engineered to help save lives

Described as an “advanced communications vehicle”, this bespoke SUV was developed in partnership with the world’s largest humanitarian agencies, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Known as Project Hero, the Land Rover has been specially engineered with a view to improving communication and response times to natural disasters such as flooding and earthquakes.

The Hero will be trialled by emergency response teams from the Austrian Red Cross over the coming year. The use of a drone will allow the Red Cross teams to have a live view across difficult terrain that might have been altered by avalanches, or floods, making traditional maps redundant. This is particularly useful in the Hero’s mountainous trial region of Eisenerz, Austria.

“Land Rover and the team of engineers and designers at SVO are proud to support the incredible humanitarian work of the IFRC and its members,” said Jonathan Edwards, Special Operations Manager at Jaguar Land Rover.

“The new Discovery is an outstanding all-terrain SUV, and Project Hero is the optimum combination of enhanced capability and innovative technology. We hope to help the Red Cross save lives in emergency situations.”

The car's roof is equipped with self-centring and magnetic retention technology, meaning the crew can land a drone while the vehicle is in motion.

Away from airborne technology, Project Hero also comes equipped with a heavy-duty workspace, improved night vision and multiple power supply points. Land Rover has had a longstanding relationship with the Red Cross and has built 120 custom vehicles for the organisation since 1954.

“We are grateful to Land Rover for their generous support over the past 60 years, and are proud of our ambitious global partnership that has transformed the lives of millions of people on four continents,” said Dr Jemilah Mahmood, IFRC Under Secretary General for Partnerships.

“The partnership is supporting communities around the world to become more resilient in the face of natural disasters such as monsoons, flooding and earthquakes. Project Hero combines the best expertise of the Red Cross and Jaguar Land Rover to create a truly unique vehicle, which we hope will be capable of making a difference to rescue operations in the toughest environments.”