・Only 3 owners

・Properly used and maintained to match

・Removable twin-tank LPG conversion with huge range

・Recent respray and underseal

In many ways, the original Range Rover was the forerunner of the modern SUV craze but from its early incarnation as the kind of car that a farmer could take into town shopping, the Range Rover was only gradually developed further towards the modern luxury SUV template. But for all the interior refinements, the Range Rover remained supremely capable off road.

Launched in 1970 as “A Car for All Reasons” with a 2 door body shell, in the late 70’s a number of third-party companies had started to offer 4 door conversions and by 1981, Land Rover decided it wanted in on the game and introduced its own production version. Then in 1984, production of the 2 door model was ended (for the UK market, at least) and a full leather interior became an option, as did an automatic transmission. In 1986 the interior was substantially upgraded with better materials for the dash and updated switchgear which largely saw it through until its replacement appeared in 1994, save for some run out variants in the last couple of years.

The 1992 model we have here packs the 3.9 litre V8 and drives all four wheels through a four speed ZF automatic gearbox. With a full leather interior and wood cappings it certainly has a luxury feel but there’s also no doubting its off-road abilities.

This example has lived in rural Herefordshire its whole life. The first owner was a fruit farmer who kept it from new until 2010 and 131k miles and reportedly mostly used it to travel to see the races in London. The next owner, a friend of the vendor, kept it for around 2 years and did not add hugely to the mileage until the seller offered to buy it. 

Fully intending to use it, he spent over £3,000 installing a dual tank LPG system which allowed him to cover the serious mileage that his business demanded, while keeping the fuel bills manageable. To deal with the additional weight, stiffer springs were fitted and, to make it fully day-to-day usable, a number of additional refinements were fitted including an uprated stereo with Bluetooth calling, reversing sensors, LED headlights and an LED reversing light.

Since then it has covered an additional hundred thousand miles, taking the total to 232k. This hasn’t been entirely without issue – a blown head gasket at 199k miles led to an engine rebuild, for example, but no expense has been spared on its maintenance and the car is wearing the miles very well. Recent work includes a full respray, brakes, disks, a new silencer, new thermostat and reconditioned distributor. That’s not to say that it’s all as new and there are a few issues of which the vendor is aware and which are noted below, but its current condition is testament to a total spend of over £36k and, with a health condition meaning that he can no longer drive the car any distance, the owner has decided to let it go.

While the first two owners may not have been great at record keeping, the current owner is fastidious and has a detailed spreadsheet log of all the work carried out. The car is accompanied by a large folder of documentation with receipts from local Land Rover specialists, a workshop manual, a fresh MOT and two keys.

The first thing to say is that until you look at the odometer, there’s little sign of the car’s mileage on the interior. Yes, there’s a bit of a shine to the driver’s seat, but other than that it’s in great condition, consistent with its age. A new set of floor mats and new headlining certainly help the cause and despite a couple of dash sections betraying the quality of plastics used by Land Rover back in the day with some cracking, the overall feel remains that of a luxury car. 

It helps that although it has been driven off road, it doesn’t look to have been used as a farm vehicle: the wood finish is all in good condition and the carpets are very clean. The owner reports a few faults: the cruise control has stopped operating, the rear passenger window is inoperative and the electric mirrors refuse to behave, despite a new ECU. There’s also a couple of trim items that have gone missing over the years: the offside rear door handle insert is missing, as is the front passenger side speaker cover. Talking of speakers however, the uprated stereo sounds very lively with additional speakers on the roof in the rear and a subwoofer fitted in the boot.

The tartan rug-covered boot cover in the back conceals what is initially a surprise: the twin LPG tanks consume pretty much all of the available boot space. This hasn’t been a problem for the current owner who simply uses the back seats for luggage but, for those for whom it may be a concern, it should be noted that the installation is entirely reversible and one or both tanks could be removed. However with each tank providing around 140 miles of range with LPG at around 65 pence per litre, there are compelling reasons to keep at least one of the them. 

Recently resprayed, the car presents very well with all of the body panels straight and true. The usability upgrades are notably subtle, with the LED reversing light neatly integrated into the towbar assembly and the parking sensors discreetly located under the rear bumper. Round the front, the LED headlights (which the owner reports to be incredibly effective) look almost OEM and the Hella fog lights have recently been renewed. The wheels were included in the respray and wear suitably chunky off-road tyres with good tread. 

The split tailgate operates exactly as it should, though shows a small amount of corrosion on the top offside corner on the inside. There is also a small area of corrosion on the front bumper above the offside fog light which could use some attention, the rear numberplate lamp is temperamental, and the rear screen wash has never worked. The underside all looks very solid with a fresh coat of 3M Body Schutz underseal having been applied following some welding to the inner wings for the MOT last year. Again, the appearance doesn’t really betray the mileage of the car and it is a credit to its current owner.

There has been some welding carried out on the chassis, and the inner wings have had repair plates fitted.

Aside from its shiny heat shield, the engine bay isn’t really dressed to impress but the 3.9 litre V8 fires up first time and, on a test drive, pulls really well. The 10% power reduction from using LPG isn’t really noticeable but the stiffer springs to accommodate the weight of the rear tanks certainly are, with the car displaying keener handling and less roll than you might expect. 

The automatic gearbox is very smooth up and down the box and, with the level of visibility afforded by the high seating position, the combined effect is to make the Range Rover very hustle-able down the Herefordshire lanes. There are no untoward noises and a boot full of spare belts just in case. As you would expect, it is equally at home on the road, up a rough track or in a field. Obviously it’s seen plenty of use to this point but all the signs are that, with the appropriate maintenance, it’s ready for plenty more. 

Classic Range Rovers have been in demand for some time and, while the market has really taken off for concours 2 door examples, that’s also bringing up values of their later and more weathered brethren. Practicality, simplicity and an enduring design are likely to continue this trend and while it’s unreasonable to expect a higher mileage example to be a high growth investment, depreciation is unlikely to factor highly in the cost of ownership.

When it comes to this example, fortunately, contrary to what you may have read, there are no local byelaws in Herefordshire forbidding the sale of lifelong vehicular residents to those in other parts of the world. This Range Rover has certainly done its fair share of travelling over the years, including numerous trips to the owner’s native Holland. And yet with a mature approach to servicing and preventative maintenance, this car is the antithesis of the engineered obsolescence school of product design. It’s a true survivor and, although it will clearly need a level of ongoing fettling, it’s well placed to continue being a very usable classic and should make its next owner proud.

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