MODERN CLASSIC Jimmy Whitmore is the kind of petrol head who loves anything on four wheels – just so long as it’s interesting. With a background in engineering and a thirst to be innovative, you won’t find him doing pile-it-high rebuilds. That’s why his Range Rover Classic manages to be convincingly modern –while still retaining the no-nonsense vibe of the original Words and pictures: Dan Fenn
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ot long after Jimmy Whitmore finished building his 1986 Range Rover Classic, he drove it into his local town and parked up to go to the shops. As he was getting out, a young couple came walking past. ‘That’s nice,’ remarked the woman, gesturing at Jimmy’s truck. ‘Yes,’ said the man. ‘It must be the new Range Rover.’ Now, there is indeed a new Range Rover due out sometime in the next year. And perhaps the chap knew more than he seemed and thought it might be a cleverly disguised development mule. Or maybe he was just dazzled by the standard of the rebuild Jimmy’s done and, oblivious to what Range Rovers have become over the last couple of decades, thought it really was a new one. Either way, it’s safe to Jimmy was pretty happy with what he heard. He didn’t rebuild his Rangey as an out-and-out off-roader, or an out-andout street machine, or an out-and-out concours classic, but as a nice old four-door made right and brought into the modern world. There are people in this world who have learned how to make a living by restoring Land Rovers to a formula and putting huge tickets on them. Jimmy is not like that. Coming from a family with a seam of engineering brilliance running deep and wide through it, he combines enormous knowledge with a maverick spirit and, in particular, a heartfelt love of cars. He’s got time for any vehicle with a bit of soul to it. Which of course means he’s mainly into older ones. When we visited his yard, on a farm near Exeter, we were greeted by a sight to stir the soul: classic Jaguars, Mercedes and a Rover P5 all in various stages of being brought back to life, a couple of Japanese 4x4s, a Volkswagen Caddy with a tremendouslycolourful history involving everything from winning a race against an F-Type SVR to being used as a makeshift bedsit… His current daily is a first-generation Scirocco. In the workshop, the remnants of an old SL-Class Merc are being grafted on to a Mk4 Chevy Corvette. You get the idea.
38 | AUGUST 2021
8pp Whitmore RR.indd 38
25/06/2021 19:42
