Why is a Land Rover Discovery towing a four foot chrome RHINO round London?

Land Rover’s Chief Designer, Gerry McGovern, has created a four foot long chrome rhinoceros complete with red horn to support the Tusk Rhino Trail.

Car makers love a ’cause’ to hang a non-promo promo on, delivering a caring message and altruistic help to a noble endeavour without reward. Well, apart from the profile. But that’s not why they do it. Perish the thought.

That offer of altruistic help starts to explain why you might have seen a Land Rover Discovery with Rhino Graphics towing a four foot long Chrome Rhino, with a red horn, on a trailer across Westminster Bridge (above). Not an everyday sight, even in London.

The full explanation is that Land Rover has joined the Tusk Rhino Trail in London, with Gerry McGovern, Land Rover’s design boss, one of 21 international artists and designers delivering their own take on a Rhino sculpture, with all the sculptures being displayed at prominent locations in London (McGovern’s is in Trafalgar Square), with a charity auction to sell the sculptures in 9 October and all to celebrate World Rhino Day on 22 September.

McGovern’s Rhino has a chrome finish (here comes the promo bit) using specialist paint techniques from Land Rover to achieve a high quality liquid metal finish, and gets a red horn to highlight the absurdity that Rhinos are slaughtered just for their horn.

 Gerry McGovern said:

I wanted to celebrate the magnificence of this unique creature, so my rhino is covered in a chrome finish. The idea being that because of the highly reflective nature of chrome it would be seen from a long distance, consequently creating awareness of the plight of this animal in Africa. The red painted horn signifies the absurdity of this beautiful animal being hunted for such a small part of its overall being.

If you’re in town over the next few weeks, don’t be surprised to see Rhino sculptures popping up all over the place. At least now you know why.

Land Rover Tusk Rhino Trail Video