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 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.