The Landy - March 2023

This probably isn’t the first pop-top Land Rover you’ve ever seen. But it might well be the coolest.

RIG Automotive is a company whose previous builds have included iconic Minis and Porsches. And when they it hold of some 130 Ambulances, the result was some of the most imaginative Defenders ever to grace a camp site.

Full story: Page 14

SILVERSTONE AUCTIONS’ RACE

RETRO SALE, at Stoneleigh Park on 25 February, will feature a classic Land Rover with excellent royal provenance. The Series I, which was built in late 1953 and registered the following year, has been comprehensively restored – in a project understood to have been encouraged and funded by the Prince of Wales (now King Charles III). It was originally delivered via Stratstone of

London on 3 July 1953, carrying the Royal sequence number NXN 1, before Queen Elizabeth II asked for it to be assigned to Balmoral – where it was used exclusively by the most senior members of the family before being sold into private hands in 1966.

Having subsequently been garaged for many years, the Series I was in desperate need of attention prior to the restoration commencing. It went

on to appear on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, as well as leading the parade of Land Rovers at last year’s Queen’s Jubilee Pageant – in front of a global television audience measured in billions.

The guide price for the vehicle reflects the excellence of its provenance – it’s estimated at £100,000-£150,000. More details can be found at www. silverstoneauctions.com.

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More options than ever for future-proofed Land Rovers as Everrati widens line-up to include resto-modded electric Defender and Range Rover Classic

Everrati is already known for the super-premium electrified classic Land Rovers it builds. The company specialises in ‘the redefining and future-proofing of automotive icons through the integration of state-of-theart electric vehicle powertrains,’ which has already seen ‘multiple’ examples of the leaf-sprung classic shorn of their petrol and diesel engines for the benefit of rich clients around the world. And now it’s starting on the Defender and Range Rover too.

‘Both vehicles remained at the apex of desirability throughout their production run,’ says Everrati, and at least in

Britain it’s hard to argue with that. Now the company wants to keep it that way by removing the Rover V8s, Tdis and Td5s without which they would surely have been more desirable still and replacing them with a ‘proven, state-ofthe-art OEM-grade electric powertrain.’

Like the Range Rover and Defender themselves, this was developed and created in England. Also like the Range Rover and Defender, it’s intended to be a success story for British exporting.

Everrati describes itself as a car custodian, promising to ‘stay true to the timeless quality of the vehicle’ while bringing it into the modern world

with an electric powertrain whose performance exceeds that of the original. This way, it says, the Land Rovers will continue to provide ‘unparalleled enjoyment and fun’ for generations to come – the inference being that while its builds are expensive, they’re an investment. Rather than trying to be a jack of all restoration trades, the company does the electric bit and engages ‘best-in-class marque-specialist build partners’ to do the restoration to what it describes as OEM standards. Each vehicle it produces is built to order, ‘retaining (its) original character and DNA

– both dynamically and aesthetically’ while being bespoke to its customer’s own specification.

‘Perfectly at home in London, Cornwall, Monterey or The Hamptons, these vehicles are right in the current zeitgeist,’ says Everrati boss Justin Lunny. ‘Rolling pieces of art that will give their owners, who are mavens of sustainability and responsibility, a clean, distinctive and luxurious way of travelling.

‘At the same time,’ he continues, ‘these progressive machines will have a legacy, being preserved for generations who will be able to continue to use and enjoy them guilt-free, with zero

A PAIR OF UNSURFACED ROADS in Carmarthenshire have been saved from permanent closure thanks to the work of the Green Lane Association and the Trail Riders Fellowship. The lanes, one north of St Clears and the other east of Llandeilo, were due to be placed under TROs in October last year – but thanks to the eagle-eyed attention of GLASS member Dave Gravelle, the two organisations were alerted to their impending fate just in time to intervene.

‘This was the first time that myself or any other local GLASS members had been made aware of these TROs,’ explains Carmarthenshire rep Andrew Hadley. ‘It turns out they were advertised in the Carmarthen Journal back in July 2022 but unfortunately we had missed it. It’s certainly something I will be checking every week from now on as it could have saved a lot of effort if we had picked it up at the time of the applications.’

At this point in time, the TRO applications were due to come into force within a matter of days. Thus the teams from GLASS and the TRF only had until the start of November to challenge them and save the lanes from being lost forever.

‘Thanks to a number of contacts including Sean Brown, Kelvin Varney and my brother Mark Hadley (Chairman of the Local Access Forum for Carmarthenshire), we were able to check out the lanes in question and could see no reason for a TRO on them due to condition or safety,’ continues Andrew. ‘Due to the short timescale, and the fact I was actually away on holiday at the beginning of October, Pete Jones and Chris Mitchell took the lead and I would like to thank them for all their hard work dealing with this.’

Further investigation showed the reason why GLASS had been unaware of the TRO-making process until the eleventh hour. ’The council had only consulted with certain users and not with all users that could be affected by these closures,’ says Andrew. ‘They were fully aware that the Local Access Forum were interested in all TRO applications within the county but had not consulted with them on these applications. They had also failed to provide a statement of reasons for the need for a motor vehicle restriction, and there was no evidence of a road safety issue on these routes.’

GLASS and the TRF both sent pre-action letters to Carmarthenshire County Council, stating that they were willing to challenge these TROs and would take it to court if need be. ‘Fortunately,’ says Andrew, ‘they have seen sense on this occasion and are currently in the process of overturning both TROs.’

Andrew describes the organisations’ joint effort as ‘a great example of everyone working together to get the outcome we need.’ However absurd it seems that the situation existed in the first place, another lesson learned about the way in which a right of way can be closed by a process that’s wrong at every turn – and further evidence, as if it were needed, that green lane users might remain vigilant at all times for back-door assaults on our rights of way

emissions, as the automotive landscape changes around them.’

Talking of changes to the automotive landscape, Everrati’s Defenders and Range Rovers are priced at £185,000 and £230,000 respectively. In each case, that’s before VAT and doesn’t include the price of the donor vehicle, so realistically you’re looking at a quarter of a million for a 90 or 110 and fifty grand more for a Rangey.

If your reaction is ‘how much diesel could you buy for that,’ you’re not thinking along the right lines. If your reaction is ‘how many Land Rovers could I buy for that,’ on the other hand…

Gab

The longest mile

Want an insight into how a Land Rover lover’s mind works? Here’s what happens during the school run for our man in the South West

IT’S A STRAIGHT MILE FROM MY CHILDREN’S SCHOOL TO OUR FRONT DOOR.

Maybe a mile and a quarter if you zigzag round the deeper potholes. Plenty of time, either way, to do some quality thinking before the working day crowds in.

So I wrap my scarf tighter round my neck and dig my hands into the fleecy depths of my pockets, bracing against the sub-zero chill of this steel-grey Somerset winter. One of my fellow villagers crawls past in his Range Rover Evoque, a solitary index finger of greeting raised in the approved manner. We don’t do showy out here in the sticks.

It’s the first Land Rover I’ve seen this morning and I delight in the way

its tyres search the icy asphalt for grip. My day tends to be punctuated by moments like this, green-oval-themed waymarks through the hours, each one prompting a new thought that, if carried to its logical conclusion, would cost many thousands of pounds.

I adore the newest Evoque. I’ve said it before, probably the last time I saw this very vehicle. Deep blue and understatedly luxurious. Like the Multiyork sofa we had when I was a kid: you just know how comfy it’ll be by the sheer look of the thing. Reckon I’ll put in a few more hours in the corporate coalmine, try to earn the sort of wage that would enable me to drive one for a year or two, even it’s only on PCP.

But, ah, and here’s the thing. The Evoque slows to pass a V8 Disco 2

whizzing down the hill. It’s an odd one, this, how it stirs my emotions with its bronze paintwork and horse-greasestained seats. Must cost a fortune to run but it’s a doughty old thing. Solid, despite a permanent coating of farmyard beneath the sills. And, oh, that burble, like listening to Richard Burton at the start of Under Milk Wood. Nothing else comes close.

Except the Freelander 1 that the local farm worker acquired in the months before Christmas. Nothing fancy, bar a set of decent Mud Terrains and a ropewrapped roo bar. I’ve long thought the Freelander 1 an ideal vehicle for budget off-roading: solid and capable; a cheap addition to the driveway.

Apart from the fact that the driveway is where this particular Freelander

seems to stay right now. There’s a battery charger dribbling from the crack in its bonnet and it watches on as the farm’s 30-year-old Daihatsu gets pressed back into service. I haven’t asked the problem, but the lesson seems clear: Ikeda 1, Solihull 0. Which just about settles the debate and saves my bank balance. No Lode Lane-themed financial risks for me this year. There’s a cost-of-living crisis on, after all.

Hasn’t stopped the bloke next door from investing in a shiny Freelander 2, mind you. Though if previous form’s anything to go by, he’ll move it on soon, so I may as well pop in and register my interest. I mean, those Halewood-built vehicles are more reliable than most, and the economy’s going to turn a corner soon, right? Which, just in case you wonder, is why my wife likes to do the school run most days.

Words: Tim Gibson

The Defender is the 4x4 of every year

Provenance is a big deal in the strange and filthy-rich world of classic cars. Something that’s rivet-perfect and original in every way is sure to be treasured – but put it alongside another example of the same vehicle that’s been molested or is mechanically so-so, but used to belong to Jimi Hendrix or Princess Grace, and watch the collectors’ cash flow straight past it en route to a date with fame.

Obviously, if you have a Land Rover that’s been restored right and also has great provenance, you’re golden. The guy who ended up with the Queen’s old Series I and is about to sell it at auction is unlikely to find himself short of a quid or two anytime soon, for example. But when so few make it into later life without having been chopped about at least a bit, perhaps it’s inevitable that a Land Rover’s history will matter once it becomes a classic.

Of course, the Royal family love their Landies, and vice versa, so an old one with a bit of blue blood in its is not exactly unique. And there are plenty of film stars, rock stars, TV stars and footballers who have very publicly been seen aboard Land Rovers.

We’ve featured David Beckham’s old motor in these pages in the past, for example. And Noel Edmonds’, too, if that’s not too much of a case of going from the sublime to the ridiculous.

So, whose old Land Rover would you most like to own? In my case, and I suspect it’s the same for a lot of you, the answer would be myself.

We all sell vehicles sometimes and then go on to regret it. I know I’ve told the story of my old 90 in these pages before now. We get attached to our Landies the way we do to almost nothing else.

Knowing you’re sat aboard some celeb’s old motor is kind of cool, sure. But owning a Land Rover is about creating memories. And if you get aboard the truck you owned years ago, those memories will come flooding back as if time has stood still. No other vehicle can light you up the same way as a Land Rover you used to own. Now, that’s provenance.

Alan Kidd, Group Editor alan.kidd@assignment-media.co.uk

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GLASS volunteers keeping Essex rights of way open for (almost) all

The public at large, especially those who obediently lap up the anti-vehicle media narrative peddled by hate groups through a supine mainstream media, would never believe that Land Rover drivers provide voluntary labour to help local authorities by maintaining rights of way. If they did, they would find it even harder to comprehend that sometimes, the rights of way they maintain are ones they’re not even allowed to drive on.

This was the case in Essex recently, when volunteers from the Green Lane Association responded to requests from the local authority to help with maintenance on a number of lanes – mainly byways, but in addition one section of bridleway.

‘We had planned to carry on with our byway repair work during the summer, with the permission of Highways,’ says Essex rep Rob Tongue. ‘But it soon became clear they were growing back almost as fast as we had cut them.

‘We started again at the beginning of September. Highways requested we

cut back a section of the byway Debden 37 so they could get in to repair it at the beginning of October. It had more or less grown in, due to it being closed awaiting repair.

‘This took us three weekends of cutting back to clear.’

The following month, they were called into action again to cut back another byway, High Roding 57 / Dunmow 43. This too had grown in. And here’s a little illustration of the way in which local authorities can come to rely on green laners’ voluntary efforts, saving taxpayers’ money in the process. ‘We still had a short section to finish,’ says Rob. ‘But the weather was against us –and a more important request for help was received from Highways.’

By now, the local authority had completed its repairs on the section of Debden 37 GLASS has cut back in September. So it was time to start work on another part of the same lane – as well as part of the adjoining bridleway. And here’s where the volunteers’ action becomes even more selfless. Highways

asked us to cut back another section of the byway, and part of a bridleway that joins it, so they could take the full closure to all users off over winter –except for axled vehicles.’

So, just to be clear, that’s 4x4 drivers voluntarily giving up their time and effort for the benefit of everyone apart from 4x4 drivers.

The local authority’s plan is that the lane will be fully closed to all users once again come spring, when final repairs will be carried out on the last section. After these are complete, the full length of the lane will at last be reopened to all users.

‘So most of November’s work was taken up on both the byway and bridleway,’ reflects Rob. ‘The latter has been unusable for many years and we have been inundated with thanks from many of the horse riders in the area.’ Next time you see a report on television or in the papers about Land Rover drivers wrecking the countryside, ask yourself why they chose not to tell you this story instead.

Group Editor Alan Kidd Contributors Tim Gibson,Gary Noskill, Dan Fenn, Paul Looe, Tom Alderney, Gary Martin, Olly Sack

Photographers Steve Taylor, Richard Hair, Harry Hamm, Michelle Thruxton, Vic Peel

Advertising Sales Manager Colin Ashworth Tel: 01283 553244

Group Advertising Manager Ian Argent Tel: 01283 553242

Publisher Sarah Moss Email: sarah.moss@ assignment-media.co.uk

While rvery effort is made to ensure that the contents of The Landy are accurate, Assignment Media Ltd accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions nor the consequences of actions made as a result of these

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Products

The latest and best equipment, parts, tools, accessories and more for Land Rover owners

Heavy-duty axles prove there’s more to Maer than just chassis

Price: From £989 per axle

Available from: www.maer.com.pl

MAER IS WELL KNOWN FOR ITS GALVANISED CHASSIS, but the Polish company also makes heavy-duty axle casings for a variety of Land Rovers.

These were developed in response to the needs of the mining industry, and if you want an indication of what they’re going to be like you just need to read that again a couple of times. Hint: if you like breaking things, don’t get one. ‘They also do their job perfectly in heavily loaded trucks or race cars,’ says Maer.

The axles are made with 8.8mm wall tube and have heavy-duty spring seats and swivel mounting plates as well as a 6mm front diff pan. Worried about smashing your nether regions into sharp rocks? No need to have a bolt-on diff protector slowly gathering a toxic mixture of mud and water behind it with one of these bad boys.

Maer’s front axles fit all Defenders, Discovery Is and Range Rover Classics. Rears are available in two forms: long-nose, to fit all 90s, Discovery Is and Range Rover Classics, and short-nose for non-Salisbury 110s and 130s with TDCi and late Td5 engines.

www.osram.co.uk/ledriving-lights

Light is Adventure OSRAM LEDriving® Working

and Driving Lights

The OSRAM range of intense LED lights are built to step up to the challenge when the going gets tough. Leave the tarmac behind and see clearly what lies ahead of you off the beat track. The LEDriving ® range of robust and stylish spotlights, reversing lights and lightbars can improve near- and far-field vision whilst enhancing driving performance, even under the most extreme conditions. Don’t let the darkness spoil your next adventure.

Available from Allmakes 4x4 and Terrafirma dealers worldwide.

Various new items join Lucas Classic range

Price: £3.50 plus VAT

Available from: www.britpart.com

THE LATEST NEW KIT FROM LUCAS CLASSIC includes a replacement 45D distributor cap for petrol-engined Series IIA and IIIs (far right). If yours is older still, the range also now includes a 6J junction box cover for the 1948-1958 Series I (left) and a floor-mounted dip switch (right), again for the Series I but this time from 1955 onwards. It’s all to be found at lucasclassic4x4.com.

To advertise in The Landy, call our team on 01283 553244

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Issue 111: Mar 2023

Wide range of interior parts and trim options from Alpha Seating

IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR BESPOKE

UPHOLSTERY for your Land Rover, Alpha Seating might be a new name to you. But the company has been around since 2002, making a range of high-quality passenger vehicle seats and rock and roll beds for vans as well as trims to suit various models from a long list of manufacturers.

These include the one you’re here to find out about. Alpha Seating’s re-upholstery service is available for every-

thing in a Defender’s cabin that ever had upholstery on it in the first place –like centre consoles, cubby boxes, sun visors, dash tops and door cards.

Did we mention roof linings? We did now. Defenders were pretty much born needing these replaced, and this is another area in which Alpha Seating has the answer to whatever questions you can think to ask.

And then of course there’s the seats themselves. The company can do new

upholstery for first and second rows alike as well as bench seats, jump seats and headrests – and, no small matter, belts. It can repair and replace these, with M1 industry-standard testing and certification to back up the quality built in to its processes.

One thing that’s not standard, though, is the range of materials and colours it offers. You can have your items reupholstered in Land Rover’s own original finishes – or you can go

bespoke and have it tailored just the way you want.

With everything made in-house, Alpha Seating promises high-quality work and very short lead times on orders.

The guys there can repair your existing upholstery, too, if that’s all you need.

Want to know more? Alpha Seating is a division of Complete Vehicle Accessories, which can treat your vehicle to everything from a towbar to a full conversion. They’re based in Hinckley, Leicestershire and can be found at www.alphaseating.com.

Tool storage options from Machine Mart

Price: £167.98-£359.98

From: www.machinemart.co.uk

MACHINE MART HAS ADDED a variety of new items to its Clarke range of tool storage options. These include two chests and a cabinet, the latter with a choice of optional side lockers, so you’re unlikely to be left wondering what’s in it for you.

First up is the CBB205C HD Plus 5 Drawer Tool Chest. This has four drawers at 575×261×49mm and a fifth at 575×261×64mm, all with a capacity of 35kg, as well as a lift-out tote tray.

Then there’s the CBB312C 12 Drawer Tool Chest, which also comes with a tote tray. This time you get nine smaller drawers measuring 170×361×49mm, two at 575×361×49mm and one at 575×361×64mm.

All drawers run on ball bearings and have full-width ali pull handles as well as protective anti-slip liners. Both chests have full-width piano hinges which are welded and riveted on to the top lid. The drawers on both units lock simultaneously when the lid is closed.

Another feature of both chests is that they can be paired up with Clarke’s CBB213C HD Plus 3 Drawer Tool Cabinet. This has two drawers measuring 584×380×73mm and another measuring 584×380×152mm and comes on castors to let you wheel it around the workshop.

The cabinet can also be paired with either the SL41C 8 Drawer Side Locker or the SL26C Cabinet and 2 Drawer Side Locker. The former has one drawer at 260x380x75mm, six at 260x380x57mm and two at 260x380x133mm, each with a 20kg capacity, while the latter has a large cabinet and two drawers of 230x380x60mm. Again, you get ball-bearing action, full-width ali handles and protective liners.

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Britpart network now offering major new range of LED bars

Price: £65-£225 plus VAT

Available from: Britpart dealers

ONE OF THE RULES ABOUT HARDCORE LAND ROVERS NOWADAYS is that if it doesn’t have at least one light bar, it might as well have square wheels. Back in the day, you used to start by considering the tyre size you wanted, work out the suspension lift you needed to accommodate it and take your project from there, but these days you start with the size of the biggest LED bar you can afford, figure out what kind of vehicle will look best underneath it and just muddle through from there.

There’s not exactly a shortage of options in the market, along with a deafening noise of opinion, counter-opinion, speculation and sheer guff as to what’s best. Expensive and high-end? No better than cheerful and low-priced, if you believe some of the importers of said cheerful and low-priced options. Expensive brands don’t come with a free side order of prawn crackers, either. Cheerful and low priced? Like lighting a candle and apt to contain a Russian spy, if you believe some of the

importers of the aforemen- tioned expensive and high-end options. You can see where this is going.

To cut through the confusion, Britpart has introduced a range of LED bars. These have various sizes and formats – wouldn’t be much of a range otherwise – and use a mixture of Cree and Osram LEDs.

So there are differences. There are similarities too, though. All five of the lights in the range have a die-cast alloy housing and polycarbonate lens, come with stainless fixings and promise a lifetime of more than 30,000 hours. That’s about three and a half years, if you were somehow to need non-stop illumination and live in a place where it’s eternally night-time.

So, the range starts with a 222mm single-row Cree unit with a 40W output and 2400 raw lumens. And it continues with what is basically the same unit again, only with a second one piggybacked on top of it. So all the numbers are the same, except for the raw lumen output which doubles up to 4800.

Both these options have high-beam patterns as standard. But move up to next lamp in the range and you get a combo pattern allowing you to dim them on the road.

This is a 36W dual-row Osram lamp with a length of 213mm, whose power output of

120W translates itself into a dazzling 9600 raw lumens.

Getting bigger now, the next option in the range is a 570mm (22.5”) dual-row Osram LED bar putting out 120W and 9600 raw lumens. And finally, the biggest of them all is a five-foot whopper with 240W and 16,800 raw lumens. If you want to illuminate your whole street, or indeed town, this is the one to buy.

It’s also the one to buy if you propose to immerse your vehicle for long periods in water deep enough for the pressure to register. That’s because it’s waterproof to IP68, whereas the others are a merer IP67 and can therefore only cope with being dunked to a depth of 15cm-1m. Obviously, if you do propose to do this with your vehicle we’d be grateful if you’d let us know so we can come and watch. Equally obviously, if you’re going to be spending long periods of time with your truck completely submerged, an LED bar that continues to function is going to be right at the top of your list of priorities. Colour temperatures are in the range of 6000-6500K throughout the five options, which offer a world of opportunities whether you’re a big-time modified vehicle builder or just a bloke who wants to be able to see where he’s going when laning at night. Or a submarine driver. Prices will vary wildly from unit to unit and dealer to dealer –as always with the Britpart network, the key is to shop around and, once you’ve got a specialist you trust, turn yourself into one of their VIP clients.

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Issue 111: Mar 2023

Tip-top pop-top

RIG Automotive is the brainchild of a car enthusiast who saw the potential in buying a fleet of decommissioned 130 ambulances and turning them into campers. Nothing original in that, you might think – however as the first vehicle to roll out of its workshop demonstrates, the company is taking a particularly imaginative approach to carving itself a niche at the top of the premium Defender market

Words: Tom Alderney

Pics: Vic Peel and RIG Automotive

Turning Land Rovers into highspec, high-value leisure vehicles has become big business in recent times. So too has turning old 130s into mobile homes.

Depending on your view of what ‘leisure vehicle’ means, these two sentences could mean more or less the same thing. But it’s very, very unlikely that you’ll have seen anything quite like

the Land Rovers built by RIG Automotive. If you have, it’s probably because you were at one of the Great British Land Rover Shows last year and saw these same vehicles there.

The RIG in RIG Automotive is Richard Gill, who’s one of those people who does all sorts or cars but always well. He knows his way around a classic Porsche 911 as well as anyone and has also previously done a restified ’87 Fiat Panda 4x4 and an absolutely show-stopping Mini Cooper S. It’s not so much a hard-nosed business (he’s already been very successful in other completely unrelated fields) as a passion that pays – and that passion, as well as an almost limitless level of imagination, is there to be seen in everything the company creates.

And ‘creates’ is the word. Not ‘builds,’ not ‘restores’ – obviously these acts are going on, but what makes these Land Rovers stand out is the extent to which they differ from other high-end examples of the breed.

RIG 1, which you’re looking at here, is a good example. From the outside, at first glance it’s an ambulance-bodied 130 with nice paint. But the deeper you delve, the more you discover.

First off, it’s on 270x70R18 Cooper Discoverer STT Pros and these ride on gloss black alloys. That’s definitely not standard, and neither are the DRL bumper, Adventure grille, satin black steering guard and gloss black bonnet, arches and light surround.

All these things help add to the air of sophistication, as does a beautifully ap-

plied coat of Land Rover’s own Havana Brown. But you’re unlikely to notice any of them, at least to start with, if the poptop roof has been deployed and the vehicle is in full camping mode. As campers go, it’s both practical and very, very classy. It’ll sleep four if required, with a fold-down double bed and wood-lined roof bed structure, then a slide-out kitchen gives you two gas hobs, an electric fridge and a full hot water system. The latter also supplies a high-pressure shower, with a separate leisure battery and full monitoring for the water and electrical systems alike.

All good, but that really is just the start. There’s a wall mount for an iPad, which gives you an idea of how contemporary this conversion is, and a Nebula Projector and screen for when

The rear area is definitely busy, but it’s been designed to make good use of every last inch of space. Wherever you look, there’s no horizontal or even vertical surface that’s not working for its living

you want to turn your Land Rover into a self-contained cinema. This is backed up by an Audio Pro Bluetooth speaker, and there’s a pair of Bowers and Wilkins wireless headphones hanging on one of the walls – next to one of the various pot plants which add a homely edge to proceedings.

Something else you’re apt to have spotted is a slide-out bike rack. This is big enough to house two adult bikes, though here it’s carrying just the one. Not just any old one, though, but a Whyte 146 – the product of a company founded on the back of the now legendary PRST-1. Designed by MTB guru Jon Whyte, this was a bike that rewrote the rules and gained a cult following among riders who dared to be different. Sounds familiar?

Up top, a solar panel is linked in to the electrical system by an MPPT controller, allowing the most efficient possible interface between it and the leisure battery. There’s an external hook up too, of course, as well as camping necessities like fold-down tables, window blinds and a hybrid washing line and shower rail.

Neither has RIG ignored the behindthe-scenes basics while speccing the 130. Poke around long enough and you’ll find an on-board compressor, tool chest and safe, and there’s a diesel-burning space heater to keep the cabin warm.

Up front, it’s a bit like the premium street Landies so many companies are building now. You get XS leather seats, Exmoor carpets, a Momo steering

Left: The console to the left of the camper area is incredibly clever and flexible in its design. It’s a double bed in this configuration…

Right: …while here, it’s folded up into a sofa. The bike slide runs underneath it, with storage space below that – this really is a masterful work of packaging

wheel, aluminium door handles and a gloss black centre console housing a Pioneer DAB radio system running Bluetooth, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay though a 6.2” touch screen. Further leather is appended to the dashboard and cubby box, with contrast stitching adding to the feeling of class. Naturally, the cabin is air-conditioned… well, maybe it’s not natural, with this being a Defender, but it is.

Talking of this being a Defender, it’s a 2010 model with the 2.4 TDCi Puma engine bolted to the standard 6-speed Getrag manual box. The engine itself isn’t standard, though, at least not entirely, because it’s had a Stage 1 tuning upgrade to help it shift all that weight. An Air Lift helper air bag kit assists the rear springs when it comes to keeping said weight supported, too. With so much tech already on board, not to mention the small matter of a back body large enough for four people to live in, it won’t surprise you that Richard specced a reversing camera. He replaced all the standard lights with LEDs, too, both inside and out, and added four LED floods to the exterior. Safe to say you’re unlikely to be missed in this thing.

Some people will look at a Defender like this and say it’s over the top. Others will instantly get what it’s about. The point is that you might not need a slide-out bike rack or a couple of pot

plants in your overland vehicle, and a TV projector and screen may represent everything you want to get away from when you climb aboard for a weekend’s off-grid camping – but the level of quality in the spec and fittings is there to show you that whatever you DO want, this is a company that’ll do it well.

Richard tells us that he’s had plenty of interest at the shows he’s done so far, and that the overwhelming response has been of admiration. The signature quirks like that mountain bike have gone down well, too.

Naturally, you don’t need to expect these vehicles to come cheap. But the base Landies are good, low-mileage 130s from a source that looked after its fleet, and the workmanship, materials and equipment that goes into these conversions is nothing short of topclass. Whether you see it as a camper van with a difference or a self-propelled executive pad, RIG Automotive’s first creation is an eye-catcher like few others – and a very, very promising sign of things to come from one of the most imaginative builders around.

Swedish meatball

Words: Graham Scott

Pics: Legacy Overland

People often say an old Land Rover is like a much-loved family pet. Just as Fido is more than just an animal, a Landy is more than just a truck, or perish the thought a car. This does mean it’s easy to get all starry-eyed and anthropomorphic about stuff. Does your dog really know what you’re thinking? Of course not. Is your Land Rover actually looking after you when you drive it home through the rain? If so, it’s only in a strictly mechanical sense.

This is probably just as well. I mean, imagine being able to actually hear what your cat thinks of you. But we do it, even though it’s ridiculous, and that’s why objects like this Range Rover come to be seen as living things by the people who own them.

Back in 1975, it rolled off the Solihull production line in the leafy West Midlands of England. Then at some point it went to live in Sweden – presumably that was its first destination since it’s always been a left-hooker.

Then it crossed the Atlantic to live in the USA. Why did it do that? Was it on the run after not being liberal enough for Sweden? Did it refuse to play Abba on its radio?

Who knows. Of course the Americans view it differently. According to them this old Classic was ‘rescued from the northern expanses of Sweden’. Obviously nobody would want to live there; the world would much rather live in the USA, whether people, objects, pets or garden ornaments.

Right: The Range Rover had a V8 when it was new, and it has a V8 now. So, nothing to see here. Except of course the old 3.5-litre Rover engine was mainly just a thing that made it move, a bit. You can tune them, for sure, but an altogether more American solution was to replace it with a crate engine – and what better candidate for the job than 6.2 litres’ worth of LS3 goodness?

Far right: The Range Rover had disc brakes when it was new, and it has disc brakes now. Do you see a pattern forming? Same goes for its springs and shocks, too – the suspension set-up is the same but the former are comfort ride jobs and the latter are from Monroe, so its owner won’t still be rebounding his or her merry way up the road half a mile after making a gentle lane change while desperately trying to get the thing to stop

‘The Americans’ in this case are the hard-working folk at Legacy Overland who, in their own words, make ‘new vintage motors’. They’re based in Connecticut, and so not that far from New York, which is actually the sort of loca-

tion you’d be likely to see this gleaming 4x4, amid all the street camps of people living rough, as it burbles through the misery, more than capable of dealing with any homeless debris or obstruction. So much nicer than the

This 1975 Range Rover stareted life on the slow boat to Sweden, but since then it has been resto-modded with one of the beefiest engines known to man. More than a little brisk, it can make mincemeat of the opposition in a street fight, or you can fillet with firewood like the truck it still is. Definitely a fitting tribute to the company that saved its bacon

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frozen lakes and snowy mountains of northern Sweden.

But here it is, not far off half a century old, looking way, way better than when it rolled off that production line, even though now it is called The Exeter. After the Duke in various Shakespeare plays who was once played by Brian Blessed, no doubt, the man who went on to find fame as the voice of Peppa Pig’s grandfather, or possibly the city in Devon that became known as England’s worst clone town.

Or not. They could have called it The Swindon or The Hull or something. Anyway, foreign travel has obviously suited this old Classic. And naturally, it has picked up some foreign parts after travelling in foreign parts.

Actually, before we get into it, it’s simply impossible to not stop and stare at that paint job. Even as you get near, your eye is drawn to that lustrous glossy black. The original body sprayers at Solihull would have choked on their Woodbines if they’d seen something like this.

Beluga Black is a Land Rover colour, but we’ve never seen it applied in quite such a glossy way. Obviously various things are Beluga Black, including caviar, a whale and, umm, some lentils, but photographing this three-door must have been tough for the man with the lens as everything is mirrored back to you from the paintwork. Sorry if you think we’re going overboard about it but it really is extraordinary.

Of course, one reason it seems so amazing is that it is so evenly reflected. And that requires flat panels, not the usual ones that aspire to flatness. Which is just one reminder that this wasn’t a quick respray and a bit of titivation. This was a total rebuild involving every nut and bolt, everything taken back to the frame, which was then treated and restored after all those dismal years in the glittering wilderness of northern Sweden.

Whoever the original owner was, it probably wasn’t Bjorn Borg or Bjorn Ulvaeus (air guitar and real guitar respectively), although of course there was a Land Rover in Mamma Mia!

Right: You can see the saffron velour seats here, though you’re only getting a glimpse of the brown carpet because The Landy is a family newspaper and we can’t be publishing full-on shag pics, can we?

Below: If you want to see something really X-rated, just check out the state of the vehicle before Legacy Overland got their hands on it. If you’re still wondering why the resto took three years, look harder

Anyway, whoever it was, they didn’t sit in the kind of luxury that you find inside the Legacy Overland version.

Slide in behind the wheel and perhaps there are echoes of the 1970s. The words ‘velour’ and ‘shag’ have their place here although it’s better if you imagine the Carry On team saying them. Titter ye not. So what we have is a cabin in handcrafted saffron-coloured velour, and the floor is covered in a dark brown shag carpet with beige floor mats. All that’s missing is the avocado-coloured bidet and we’d be away.

But it is, as a later comedian would attest, ‘all in the best possible taste’.

It really is, too, with Palomino leather trim also lavishly applied to doors, seats and even the cubby box. The detailing is exquisite, like that Lokar vintage-style gearlever finished in Midnight Black, matched by the transfer case shift lever. You might notice how the main dials have been meticulously rebuilt – but in addition to these there are new, smaller gauges for everything from oil pressure to clock.

Naturally, unlike in a Rolls-Royce, you won’t be hearing the clock tick for several reasons, including the new Alpine UTE sound system. The head unit fits in where the original radio would go and is partnered with a massive amplifier and speakers in the doors and rear roof. Never will Dancing Queen have sounded so good.

But there’s another reason you won’t be hearing the clock tick, and that’s because of one of those aforementioned foreign parts. It’s what happens when things go Stateside. They just get bigger. The original V8 is gone.

Too small, too weedy, too European. Instead there is another V8 fro General Motor only this one, straight out of its crate, displaces 6.2 litres.

Legacy Overland don’t go into performance figures so much, but the LS3 engine should be good for about 430bhp. That is just a smidge above the original V8 which might have made 124bhp on a good day, and not all days were good. Not forgetting the new figure of 425lbf.ft of torque.

While that’s all jolly marvellous and exciting, the more thoughtful among you must be wondering what that torrent of power would do to the rest of the vehicle, apart from creating a grinning driver.

There’s a six-speed automatic fitted but that still feeds through the LT230 transfer case, which has been rebuilt. We bet it has. The entire drivetrain has been meticulously rebuilt to cope with it all and there’s an aluminium radiator, power steering with its own cooling system and a custom exhaust. To paraphrase a disgusting breakfast cereal, it rumbles, crackles and pops.

Stopping such a beast would necessarily require an upgrade, and sure

enough there are high-performance disc brakes all round with braided hoses to keep things tight. The handling appears to be aimed more at the US than the UK market with ‘comfort ride’ springs and Monroe shock absorbers. With such a set-up you’d probably hardly notice those tented encampments under the BFGoodrich All Terrains, which run on restored Rostyle steels sporting custom wheel caps. Legacy Overland really do the details. Which is one reason why this restoration took them three years. It must be said that when they got it, in a sort of tired Camel Trophy drab yellow, it looked like it had been hit by a moose while being driven by a bear. Now it

looks as good and to a higher standard than many modern supercars.

Only it’s not a supercar, it’s an absolute classic, one of those shapes pretty much anyone would recognise and smile at. It manages to look period but on-point, extravagant but almost modest. That’s what real money can buy.

Any BlackRock senior exec could buy the US-only Range Rover Carmel Edition at north of $300,000, but it takes a certain amount of taste and discernment to spend the better part of that on a vehicle that’s as good as 50 years old. We reckon this elder English vehicle would smile quietly to itself at its restoration to high status. See, it reallly is easy to be anthropomorphic.

Patched up

Fresh from a major lockdown refurb, Patch is a 2002 110 Hi-Cap with an interestingly varied set of colours on its body panels. There’s more to this Land Rover than just a comedy paint job, though – like a fully equipped demountable camping pod with everything including the kitchen sink and even its own log burner. And with the camping body removed, you can take it into the woods to collect all the fuel you need for a cosy home from home

Words: Tom Alderney

Pics: Ashton Radcliffe

One of the most common things you hear people saying about Land Rovers is that they’re like a blank canvas. Whether you want to build an off-road toy or a work truck, a street machine or anything from a mobile malaria clinic to a self-propelled bar, choose a good Defender and you’re made.

The same goes for living on board. For everyone that’s done it, there’s a different approach to making it happen – but while the spend-it-and-spec-it philosophy is undoubtedly popular among those who can, there’s a fantastic cul-

ture of creativity among those who, by necessity or design, do it themselves.

This 110 Hi-Cap is a case in point. Dating from 2002, it’s the base for a demountable camping rig – which might distract you from the fact that the vehicle itself is a bit of a curiosity too.

It’s called Patch (gotta love a Landy with a name) and it’s the property of Ashton Radcliffe, who explains that it was a lockdown project built by ‘a talented young engineer and his girlfriend.’ Between them, the couple rebuilt the 110 using replacement wings and other body panels – which

they painted in different colours, harlequin-style. This, as Ashton says, ‘makes it a rather distinguished and fun vehicle, much admired by many.’ Ultimately, it’s mainly blue. More could have been made of the multicoloured theme, perhaps, but at the same time you do look at it and smile. The camper pod doesn’t do any harm here – though if you were to see the vehicle naked, just a 110 Hi-Cap in various colours, it would get your attention that way too.

But it does have the camper pod on it, so let’s look further into that. This

contains a kitchen with a sink and cooker, the latter supplied from gas bottles, and a water pump running from a bank of three five-litre containers. Electrics are taken care of by a leisure battery running off a split-charge system with a load-sensitive relay, which in turn is hard-wired to the vehicle itself.

So much for it being demountable, you’re getting ready to say. Well, Ashton reckons it takes less than 20 minutes to fully separate the two parts of the vehicle, with five of those going on disconnecting the electrics. In other words, they’ve thought of that. The de-

mountable body is served by a camper blade fuse box running various circuits, including those for a 12-volt light set-up including remote switches with variable brightness settings.

The real coup de grace, however, is a wood burner. This, Ashton assures us, ‘makes the camper very warm even

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in deep midwinter.’ There’s an area for wood storage underneath it and a detachable flue up top which can be removed when travelling then installed prior to use to prevent any gruesome scenes involving carbon monoxide.

Looking around the inside of the pod, there’s a definite mixture of design influences. The wood burner looks wonderfully retro, as does a water tap made from gas pipe and kitchen cupboard fronts that look like they were jointed up from driftwood. The decor in the lounge area is nicely vintage, too, but then it’s centred around a fitted table that’s vintage in the might-havecome-from-MFI sense.

As with the rest of the vehicle, it was done to the restorer’s own taste. And unless you’re being paid handsomely for the job, why on earth would you do it any other way?

Taste varies, on the other hand, but what makes a good vehicle does not. And if you were to look at the various hues adorning on this 110 and assume it had been lashed up in an afternoon, how wrong you’d be.

‘Despite its colourful exterior,’ says Ashton, ‘the vehicle has been very well restored with a new wiring harness, rear light housings with new lens-

es, a repainted chassis (no welding required), all new copper brake pipes and flexis and new front swivel joints and seals.

‘It’s had new vented discs all round, new heavy-duty shocks and springs, new Terrafirma steering arms and steering damper and a new steering drop and ball joint. Its bearings have been cleaned and repacked, its steering box resealed and its coolant flushed and replaced with OAT.’

In addition to all this, everything else that could be drained and refilled has been as part of the restoration – axle oil, gearbox oil, you name it. The 110 had a new bumper and transfer case, too, and was treated to a full engine service, including the fuel system, as well as a new wiper motor and spindles, indicator and wiper stalks, washer pump, overflow pipe and bonnet release cable. Phew.

Finally, the driver and passenger seats were recovered in material from Exmoor Trim. So, a wide variety of jobs that make up if not quite a full restoration, then certainly an extremely comprehensive refurbishment.

Nonetheless, it’s the sort of vehicle you might not take a second look at were it not for that camping body

mounted on the Hi-Cap bed. And to make things even better, Ashton also has a twin-axle bathroom trailer with a hot water system (‘state of the art,’ he proudly claims), shower, basin unit and cassette toilet. Based on an Ifor Williams BV85, it goes behind the 110 to make quite the rig – and it’s a different colour to both the vehicle itself and the

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live-in pod, so it keeps up the whole harlequin image.

Would it look better if the whole lot was painted to match? Possibly – but again, it all comes down to taste. But where’s the fun in blending in?

One of the things we all love about Defenders, after all, is that they make people smile. And if this one were less

quirky, it might not make them smile as much. Besides, you’d not be able to call it Patch any more.

The 110 is currently for sale, priced at £16,000 with the demountable camper body. The bathroom trailer is available separately for £12,000. It’s based in Brechin and is advertised on page 28

Defender 200 Tdi (1990-1994) £4000-£38,000

decades if it’s looked after. Find one that’s had all its oil changes (a tall order) and it’ll go round (and round) the clock.

The Tdi engine, which arrived with the Defender name, can last for

The good thing about the earlier 200Tdi is that it’s simpler than the later 300. What you gain here you lose in refinement, but this is seen by many experts as the best Defender of them all.

The LT77 gearbox in the 200 Tdi is more truck-like than the later R380, and these vehicles didn’t come with bling. Just be sure it’s an original Tdi you’re getting, not an old Discovery conversion.

Pros: The perfect combination of tradition and modernity

Cons: Lots of horrible and/or deceptive ones around

Defender 300 Tdi (1994-1998) £4500-£43,000

the two are related. It’s much more refined and smoother to drive, though there are more electronics involved so later versions in particular are less of a DIY fix.

The 300 Tdi engine is very different to the 200 unit it replaced, though

The arrival of the 300 Tdi also brought with it the R380 gearbox. This used to have a terrible reputation for relability, but most have been put right by now and they’ve

become sought after for their light clutch and better shift action.

It was during the Tdi era that Defenders started getting things like alloys, too. You might even find one that’s not been off-road…

Pros: Strength and simplicity. Perhaps the definitive Defender Cons: Sure to be very different to when it left the factory

Defender TDCi (2007-2016) £8500-£195,000

When Land Rover introduced the Defender name, it was actually the

130 that changed the most. That’s because unlike the old 127, it was built on a proper chassis of its own rather than a stretched 110 frame.

The advent of the Tdi engine was the making of the 130, too. At last, Land Rover could make them pull properly without returning single-figure fuel economy by using a hard-worked V8.

As a result, you’ll find many more original(ish) 130s than 127s. Some are even still in service with the utility companies they were built for. If you want a Defender for overlanding, look no further.

Pros: A proper truck with huge capabilities in every area Cons: It’s a big lump if you don’t actually need that much size

Defender Td5 (1998-2007) £5000-£40,000

a strong performer. It does lend itself to being tuned though, so watch out for abused ones and knackered examples that have been pushed beyond the limit.

As with all Defenders, you’ll need a rear crossmember sooner or later – or even a new chassis.

The Td5 engine is arguably Land Rover’s most reliable unit and it’s

Despite having more electronics than the Tdi, a Td5 Defender can

still be a DIY machine. Parts are in plentiful supply, as is specialist knowledge – and it’s one of the best Land Rovers ever.

Pros: Off-road capability, power, overall reliability. Very well suited to being modified

Cons: Rear chassis, premium prices, monstrous road tax on later vehicles

Defender (2020-on) £55,000-£165,000

The last Defenders gained modern 2.4 and 2.2 TDCi engines and

smooth six-speed gearboxes, They still had phenomenal off-road ability and were even okay to sit in. Famously, this was the Defender that actually had a dashboard Many people dislike the TDCi, especially the earlier 2.4, but they still change hands for huge money – especially when the likes of Kahn or Twisted have been

involed. You will always pay a premium for a Puma, and a Tdi or Td5 may turn out to be a better purchase. Even then, though, look after it and you may well never see depreciation.

Pros: Efficiency, creature comforts, off-road prowess

Cons: Price, electronics, TDCi engine is unloved

If the subject of the new Defender comes up in enthusiast circles, try

to steer it away on to something safer. Like Brexit, for example.

Much as it may infuriate purists, however, the Defender is actually a very wonderful thing. It’s kind of like an old one, only with space, comfort and equipment.

The big difference is that you can’t work on it yourself. This goes for maintenance and, crucially,

making modifications – a market Land Rover wants to take back and have for itself. It won’t hold its value long-term the way an original-shaper does, either. But this is still a superb vehicle.

Pros: Comfort, capability, rugged fitness for purpose

Cons: Not cheap to buy. Lacks the old one’s basic charm

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Defender 130 (1990-2016) £12,500-£35,000

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Freelander (1997-2006) £400-£5500

It’s also a notable classic in its own way, as it heralded the start of the company’s modern era. It has its issues, though. The viscous coupling is expensive to replace and can be upset simply by running mismatched tyres.

The 1.8 petrol used to be notorious for head gasket failures. Today’s replacements are much

Freelander 2 (2006-2015) £2000-£17,500

more robust, but a late diesel is your best bet. Even these can go calamitously wrong, though. This was a more complex car than it needed to be, and buying one for sweeties now doesn’t change that.

Pros: Cheap to buy, no big rust issues, surprisingly able off-road Cons: All sorts of things can go wrong, some very expensively

Range Rover Classic (1970-96) £4000-£275,000

are people who do just that, preferring to invest new-car money in a restoration than spending it on a current model.

The original Rangey is a classic you can use everyday – and there

It’s a smart policy, too. An early two-door can cost mega money, but any Classic will appreciate in value if kept in good condition –and sought-after rarities like the CSK and LSE can be a gold mine.

liable than the P38. It’ll still cost a lot to run, however, and drivetrain faults and underbody corrosion are not unknown.

The Mk3 Range Rover hit new heights of luxury and was more re-

An awful lot of Rangeys have been neglected and/or abused, and you can still buy they cheap. But if you’ve got the skills, and access to parts, restoring one would be the ultimate hobby that pays.

Pros: Most usable classic Land Rover, V8 power, ride quality Cons: Rust, availability of parts for early models

The Freelander 2 was a massive improvement on the model

it replaced. It’s a refined and affordable SUV with a strong engine, good equipment and a decent level of practicality.

It’s become one of the most reliable Land Rovers out there, too. But do be aware of the rear diff and Haldex unit for costly outlays.

The 2.2-litre diesel engine is a strong performer, though for a

bargain search out one with the unpopular 3.2 petrol unit. Either way, it’s a fine SUV to drive. Prices have fallen since the production ended, too – £10,000 now gets you one worth having.

Pros: Reliability, refinement, economy of diesel engine Cons: Transmissions can wear quickly if used for towing

Range Rover (1994-2002) £1000-£28,000

own, even today. The problem is that they’re very complex and very, very good at going wrong.

A Mk2 Rangey in good working order is still a sensational car to

Air suspension failure is the norm. Head gaskets can let go. Electronics are laughably flaky. And parts can cost the earth – as will the labour bills. Perhaps worst of all, nowadays it’s very hard to find one you can be sure hasn’t

spent at least part of its life being worked on by idiots

Still, you’ll get a classy motor with proper off-road and towing skills. It’s becoming a classic, too, and prices are still tiny considering everything you get.

Pros: Luxury, price, a Land Rover that doesn’t rust

Cons: Electrics. Be very afraid

The TDV8 engine is sublime, but you’ll pay more to get one –especially the 4.4, though the 3.6 has all the power you need. The V8 petrol, on the other hand, is temptingly cheap. Guess why…

This isn’t a DIY motor, but it certainly is a Range Rover, with brilliant off-road and towing skills. It relies a lot on electronics, but they work wonders – and the deepdown engineering is very robust.

Pros: Great off-road, luxury, image, TDV8 powerplants

Cons: Very complex. Huge running costs

The current Range Rover is a majestic 4x4. All the engines in the

range supply copious amounts of power, and its road manners are absolutely impeccable.

It’s startlingly capable off-road, too, even if getting one muddy would feel like bad form. Most that leave the tarmac probably do so only when their owners are in the mood to blow some grouse out of the sky.

Inside, the Range Rover’s cabin is superb, with sumptuous trim and cutting-edge equipment. Prices are, of course, as immense as the vehicle itself. But if you can afford it, so too is the presence a Rangey will give you.

Pros: Class, luxury, engines, vast all-round capability

Cons: Price

Range Rover Sport (2005-2013) £9500-£20,000

to greater extremes than ever, with lavish equipment and endless opportunities for personalisation.

It’s a supreme lifestyle wagon for the rich: to many of Land Rover’s traditional fans, on the other hand, it’s the supreme irrelevance.

If you can afford one, few cars could be as pleasing. However if you can afford one and you love

Land Rovers, you’re likely to be thinking about how many real ones you could buy with this sort of money. It wouldn’t make a bad way to tow your collection about the place, though…

Pros: Immense prestige, and sublime both to be in and drive Cons: To at least 99% of people it’s utterly divorced from reality

Range Rover Sport (2013-22) £19,500-£140,000

the original, meaning it’s almost economical to run. It feels really nimble and agile on the road, too, and it comes with a range of engines giving it a brisk turn of pace.

Some won’t like the flamboyant posture, while others will love it. Either way, inside the cabin it’s very nearly as luxurious as the full-fat Range Rover.

The only stumbling block with such a fine motor is going to be how to pay for it. Depreciation has started to bring down the purchase price – though you’ll never run one on a shoestring.

Pros: Performance, refinement, glorious interior

Cons: Marmite image. Pricey to buy and run

Range Rover Evoque (2011-19) £7500-£41,000

the masses. Given that it was the company’s fastest-selling vehicle, they clearly hit the brief, even if it wasn’t for the traditional Land Rover owner.

It’s actually still a capable thing off-tarmac – but it’s definitely more at home on the road.

When the Evoque was launched, it signalled JLR’s intent on hitting

Nevertheless, it is economical by Land Rover standards and

Hilariously, this is what counts as the affordable way in to owning a

a supreme off-roader as well as being a funky road ride. It doesn’t handle like a sports car, but is agile enough for an SUV.

A Discovery of the same era is far more practical, however, while a full-fat Rangey has more class. The Sport is still a massively able tow barge, though, in addition to all its other virtues.

You’re looking at a car which many people associate with rich chavs and criminals, however. And being based on the Discovery 3, it can’t help but share that vehicle’s reputation as a money pit.

Pros: Decent performance and all-round dynamics

Cons: A Disco 3 is more usable. Expect horrific running costs

new Range Rover. The Sport is less about being chauffeur driven and more about lording it over other aspirational school runners, but once again it’ll be lovely to drive.

Like the full fat Range Rover (a phrase which has never felt more appropriate), the Sport is available with an old-school V8 engine that gives you racecar performance in

return for NASA-level emissions. Most UK customers with opt for an altogether healthier plug-in hybrid, but they’ll still get a vehicle that’s brutally fast a well as being able to do the normal Range Rover stuff.

Pros: Smooth, refined, comfy… and game for a laugh, too Cons: Still hasn’t quite shed its proceeds-of-crime image

because there are so many out there, used prices are tempting. There’s a Convertible model, too, as well as three and five-door tin-tops. We say stick to the latter, and be sure to get one with 4WD.

Pros: Economy, handling, iconic concept-car image

Cons: Cramped rear seats, not as practical as a Disco Sport

Most Range Rovers all look the same at the front now, but the new

Evoque has adopted a similiar back end to the larger Velar. It’s not just the exterior that mimics the looks of the larger vehicle, however, as the Evoque has gained the latest Touch Pro Duo tech and a hike in quality.

The main highlight of the new Evoque is the fact the majority of the range is made up of mild

hybrids, available with diesel and petrol engines combining to an electric motor. Only the base D150 Evoque escapes the electrification, and we’d avoid it as it doesn’t have four-wheel drive.

Pros: Feels like a proper Range Rover inside

Cons: Petrol engine is poor on fuel economy, even as a hybrid

Range Rover (2002-12) £2200-£27,000

Range Rover (2012-22) £20,000-£150,000

The Sport is mechanically similar to the Discovery 3 – meaning it’s

The second-generation Range Rover Sport is 400kg lighter than

Range Rover Evoque (2019-on) £31,000-£60,500

The Freelander 1 is a cheap gateway into Land Rover ownership.

The fifth-generation Range Rover takes its position as a luxury car

Range Rover (2022-on) £99,000-£220,000

Range Rover Sport (2022-on) £80,500-£145,000

INSURANCE FOR THE INDIVIDUAL

Range Rover Velar (2017-on) £27,500-£75,000

because of its particularly handsome exterior. It’s based upon the same architecture as the Jaguar F-Pace but has greater off-road ability and is available with a wide choice of engines, most of which combine good economy with usable everyday performance.

Discovery (1989-1998) £800-£18,000

other models expected to follow the Velar in due course.

But is there a whiff of style over substance? Well, it’s a very good SUV. But you don’t half pay a premium for those suave looks...

with the same 100” wheelbase and a slick body containing a spacious, flexible cabin. It was well equipped and refined, and it came with the wonderful Tdi engine.

The Velar a competent cruiser and has received numerous accolades

The interior is Land Rover’s most advanced cabin to date, with

Pros: Stylish design, chic cabin, excellent tech features Cons: Feels like an indulgence, especially at such a high price

Discovery 2 (1998-2004) £1000-£11,000

most reliable units ever. It drives well, too – mated to a manual box it has more guts even than the V8 option, which is surprisingly bland but predictably thirsty.

Whereas the Disco 1 was prone to body rust, the D2 is fine here. Instead, its chassis rots like a carrot, especially towards the back end. Also at the back, seven-seat

The original Discovery was based on the Range Rover of the time,

Over time, the Disco’s epic ability meant almost all of them were hammered at playdays. Lower body rust is a big killer, too. So it’s rare to find a good one now,

and when you do they tend to be priced with a lot of optimism. Very early ones in tip-top condition are full-on classics, too. For a sound one to own, we’d look for a tidy 300Tdi.

Pros: Price, practicality, parts availability. Epic off-road ability

Cons: The body rusts like it’s been doused in sea water

Discovery 3 (2004-2009) £1850-£16,000

models had air-suspension, with all the horrors that brings.

Mainly, D2 owners will tell you about rogue electronics. And leaky sunroofs. They still love their trucks, though, which says a lot.

Pros: Td5 power and reliability, great all-rounder, lots of choice

Cons: Chassis rust, electronics, leaky sunroofs, air suspension

The Disco 3 is an astonishing allround vehicle. It’s good on the road

and capable off-road, genuinely luxurious and a giant of a tow truck, and as well as being able to seat seven adults it can be turned into a van with a totally flat rear load area.

But it was also astonishingly complex, and these days it has a reputation as a money pit. Air suspension and electronic

handbrakes are big sources of woe, cam belts are a body-off job to change and rust is becoming more of an issue. Get a good one, though, and it’s all the car you’ll ever need.

Pros: Good at everything. Lots of accessories available now

Cons: As fragile as you expect, and then some

is basically an evolution of the 3. It looks similar and is still a practicality monster, as well as being hugely impressive on and off-road and a hero in front of a trailer, but despite being only subtly tweaked inside feels far more luxurious.

That hasn’t prevented it from suffering all the same issues as time has gone on. You need to

body and dishes up an appealing all-round blend of comfort, kit and general driving manners.The third row of seats is only suitable for little ‘uns, though, and off-road it’s a Discovery in name only.

It’s a more practical proposition than the closely related Evoque, and you won’t need to live with the fear of Posh Spice jokes. You

start off by buying the best you can possibly afford – and at the top of the market, they don’t come cheap. Get it right, though, and this is as good as a modern Land Rover has ever been.

Pros: Most LR fans’ idea of what a Range Rover should be like Cons: Still a potential money pit, and the best are expensive

might shudder at the price if you’re buying new, though – but on the used market, there are some tidy looking deals to be had, even on high-spec examples.

Pros: More practical than an Evoque, and less vulgar. Seven seats. Capable enough off-road Cons: Back seats only for small mammals. Price of top models

monster. As an all-rounder, at

launch it was the most capable Land Rover on sale – the new Defender will be going some to wrest that crown from it.

All the engines in the range are refined and flexible, and its chassis is remarkably supple for such a big vehicle. There’s no end of electronics working away in the background, but the effect is very

convincing – as is an interior that might make you wonder why you’d bother paying more for a Range Rover. Just be careful not to go wild with the options and end up paying more for a Discovery…

Pros: Immense blend of comfort and practicality

Cons: Feels more like a softroader than a proper Discovery

Discovery Sport (2019-on) £21,000-£62,000

after the first. That’s because once again, it’s related to the Evoque, which was ready for a full new model in 2019.

The Sport is a premium midsized SUV with seven seats and a decent level of off-road ability. It’s a massively popular choice for the school run – and, with the arrival of a plug-in hybrid option last

year, as a company car. Quality has taken a step up from the first model – it’s now a convincing premium vehicle, and the range offers enough choices to suit anybody with the means to buy one.

Pros: Classy and practical cabin, all-round good to drive

Cons: You can get a Defender for the price of some models

The Disco 2 is powered by the Td5 engine, one of Land Rover’s most

The second-generation Disco Sport came along only four years

Discovery 5 (2017-on) £24,500-£95,000

The Discovery Sport packs seven seats into a Freelander-sized

Discovery Sport (2015-19) £12,500-£33,000

Somewhere between a facelift and a whole new model, the Disco 4

Discovery 4 (2009-2017) £6000-£40,000

Series IIA 109” 2.25 diesel (1968). Galv chassis. Fairey overdrive. Very good engine, box, running gear. Factory paint. Same owner 19712002. Original registration docs. All matching numbers. £13,500. Devon. 07783 051634 02/23/005

Series III Lightweight FFR (1984).

2.25 petrol (original engine). RHD. New fuel tank. Excellent soft top. Original chassis (some minor repairs, then Waxoyled). Enthusiast owned. £8995. Peterborough. 07452 950853 02/23/006

Series I 107 (1955). 84,112 miles.

2.5 TD 19J engine fitted 10 years ago. Solid undersealed chassis and bulkhead. Starts and stops right. Various parts also available inc correct 2.0 engine. £13,995. St Austell. 07792 621848 01/23/002

Products Vehicles News

Adventure Workshop

Defender 110 TD5 Hi-Cap (2002). 133,461 miles. Recent major restoration. Demountable camping pod with wood burning stove, sink, gas cooker, benches, table and bed. MOT June. £16,000. Brechin. 07802 331539 03/23/004

Defender 90 2.2 TDCi HT (2014). 64,000 miles. 2-seater. BFG A/Ts, Momo wheel, KBX grille and vents, Sony/Alpine Bluetooth stereo, hi-top cubby. Professionally waxed every year. £33,000. Saundersfoot. 07495 041333 02/23/001

Defender 90 2.5 DT (1990). 100,950 miles. LT77 box. Strong chassis, excellent engine and box, galv rack and ladder. Bodywork original. Recent turbo and water pump. MOT Apr. £6950. Totnes. 07861 781660 02/23/004

Defender 90 Td5 (2002). 74,000 miles. Solid chassis, new exhaust. Great condition inside and out. Towbar, steel wheels. Ali rear canopy. Very good tyres. 2 owners. FSH. MOT June. £14,500. North Yorks. 01642 824772 01/23/006

Defender 90 300Tdi (1998). 120,000 miles. Restored on galv chassis. New brakes and clutch, swivels, fuel tank, handbrake. 2” lift, dislocation cones, alloys, swingaway wheel carrier. £14,000. Stroud. 07771 798099 01/23/008

90 (1986). 95,000 miles. Cummins 6BT engine. Recon transfer box, ARB Air-Lockers front and back. New batteries, bucket seats, chequer plate front, speakers in the back. £12,000. Dudley. 07466 990148 01/23/007

90 300 Tdi (1987). 155,000 miles. Galv bulkhead. Disco engine, box and tranny. Rear discs. Slickshift, snorkel, winch, Optimas, cage, sliders, +3” suspension, 33” Fedimas. MOT Oct. £10,000. Melksham. 07961 847850 01/23/009

Defender 90 300 Tdi Truck-Cab (1989). 125,000 miles. Extremely tidy, no welding needed. Bespoke roof rack for carrying very long, heavy ladders. Starts first time. MOT Sep. £9495. Ormskirk. 07484 186035 02/23/003

Defender 90 Td5 SW (2003). 87,000 miles. Alloys, nav, leather. Tuned. Full LEDs, upgraded grilles and vents, alcantara wheel. No rust, drives very well. FSH. MOT Sept. £22,500. Sevenoaks. 07834 550510 02/23/002

Range Rover Macnellie limousine (1990). Unique. Bespoke chassis. Comes with all bespoke parts, including Brooklands body kit, and a good donor car for the running gear, dash, air-con etc. £9950. Walton. 07958 258770 02/23/007

Range Rover Classic 2.5 TD 2-dr (1987). 90,000 miles. LHD, UK reg’d. Mechanically sound, solid chassis and inner wings etc. Lots of paperwork to confirm mileage etc. MOT Aug. £9995. Lancaster. 07776 474925 01/23/004

Discovery 300 Tdi 50th Anniversary (1998).

Discovery 300 Tdi ES Premium (1997). 157,000 miles. Manual. Spanish import. Solid. New clutch, cam belt, brakes, filters, head lining. Sunroofs resealed. MOT Jan 24. £2750. Richmond, N.Yorks. 07990 970129 03/23/001

Whatever your taste in Land Rovers, there’s one annual publication you can’t afford to miss. The Land Rover Yearbook is an eclectic blend of classics, modified motors, new Landies, product reviews, travelogues and more.

This year’s Yearbook includes a range of 90s and 110s that have been brought back to life with a twist. And a 107” Station Wagon, too, restored and modified into a Series I like no other. If you prefer your classics to be more, well, classic, you’ll find an 88” Series IIA rebuilt with a devotion to originality that borders on the fanatical. And how about one of the very earliest Freelanders? Not everyone’s idea of a classic, but everything about Land Rover’s history since then says it’s one of the most significant vehicles the company has ever made.

The Discovery, for example, was a truck in the pre-Freelander era. Now it’s a premium SUV. We’ve tested the current model in entry-level D250 form in a bid to find out whether you really need to stretch all the way to a top-spec engine. And we’ve driven the basic Defender 90, too – steel wheels and all. Not just on any test drive, either, but a mighty green lane trip on some of the best trails in the country.

That’s one kind of travel story. Getting up close to Africa’s wildlife is definitely another, and so too is the Dakar Classic. Loads of historic Range Rovers and Series trucks were involved in this marathon desert rally – yet not one of them had a British driver. So be warned

spend a day or two poring over the 2023 Land Rover Yearbook and you might come away on a mission to put that right!

£8.99 in whsmith or order online at www.amedia-shop.co.uk

RRL660

Utility inspection light that has Chip On Board (COB)

LED technology that emits up to 180 lumens. With a swivel hook and magnet, the RRL660 is perfect for hands-free use. Anti-slip grip and ABS material with rubber paint finish make it durable and ideal for use in a demanding workshop environment. Batteries included.

3W COB Flat Inspection Light 180 lumens

Anti slip grip and ABS material with rubber paint finish

Magnet and 360° rotating hook for hands free working www.ringautomotive.com

West

Look after a Land Rover, and it will last forever. This longevity, which is almost unique in the car industry, means a vast number of classic Land Rovers are still on the road today – and not just as classics, but as historical vehicles still working for their living to this day.

Land Rover: The Great British Classic celebrates this magnificent heritage by focusing on the best of Land Rover from its early days. A high-quality publication from the makers of 4x4 magazine and The Landy newspaper, it covers a broad spectrum of historical vehicles: not just Series I, II and III Land Rovers from the postwar years, but also the first generations of Range Rovers, Discoverys and Freelanders, as well as the 90s and 110s that were later to become the legendary Defender.

Covering the vehicles’ history, spotlighting case studies of restored and otherwise much-loved examples and searching out stories of adventure behind the wheel, Land Rover: The Great British Classicc is a publication for everyone who admires Land Rovers from the early days.

Heated

There are two switches provided for the driver and passenger seats which allow the heat output to be altered to the two di erent settings. A readymade cable set connects the switches to the 12V on-board power supply to the heat the pads.