the previous generation p38 range rover (or "pegasus") had been developed whilst the rover group was owned by british aerospace, and budgetary constraints during the development had been extremely tight. there was also press criticism of the p38a that its styling lacked the "presence" of the original 1970 range rover. when the rover group was taken over by bmw shortly after the p38a's launch in 1994, the newly installed bmw management at land rover quickly concluded that the car would not have a long shelf life compared to its predecessor, due to its fundamentally dated underpinnings, and cancelled the planned '99 model year' updates. a proposed replacement for the discovery was postponed and development of an all-new range rover, codenamed l322, took priority.