• Rare, highly exclusive specification

• Only two owners and 48k km from new

• Recently mechanical refresh with gearbox still under warranty

• Fully documented and storied history

It could be argued that when Land Rover launched their ‘car for all reasons’, the Range Rover, in 1970, they slightly missed the mark. Given that this was a very new market, they can be forgiven for falling back on their usual approach of providing an interior that could be hosed out but it turned out that the market had a greater desire for luxury and indeed practicality. A veritable cottage industry sprang up around customising the Range Rover, most notably building four door versions but also tailoring them to the demands of very well heeled customers. 

Over time, the factory adapted but there remained a small number of companies who would take your Range Rover and, providing you had deep enough pockets, personalise it for you. One such company was Symbol Ltd who were based in Park Lane in London and would sell you a convertible, long wheelbase four door or upgraded standard car, which is what we see here. Not to be confused with the regular item, this would have more than doubled the cost of a Range Rover back in the day and makes for a unique and special vehicle.

If cars could speak, this one would surely have some stories to tell. In the hands of its first owner, whose initials we see on the door, for 34 years it was her preferred mode of transport until she became too frail to drive it. During that time she lived in Monaco and Switzerland and holidayed all over the world, shipping the car to accompany her and, fortunately for us, keeping a full set of records of everything to do with the running of the car.

That first keeper was Helen Cunningham-Reid, the daughter of a Scottish Laird and daughter-in-law to Alec Cunningham-Reid, a First World War flying ace and latterly Conservative MP. 

She took delivery to her home in Monaco in May 1982, where the car was reportedly well-known and used to chauffeur a variety of celebrities. In 1984 it was sent to Symbol in Park Lane for a comprehensive personalisation programme which encompassed a repaint to Grosvenor Brown with hand painted gold coachlines and initials HCR on the doors, flared arches filled with Symbol alloys, a retrim in cream leather with Wilton wool carpets and a wool headlining, a custom walnut dashboard, installing air conditioning, electric windows, a leather steering wheel, gun and fishing rod retaining straps, a picnic box and a luggage strap and pad in the boot. 

Over the years various other tweaks were added to make the car more usable, particularly when it moved to Switzerland. This included a CD player, an ‘ice warner’ and an early 90’s sat nav unit which is mounted on a flexible arm and is controlled via a wired remote. While it may look primitive to us now, at the time it was cutting edge technology and cost over £5,000 to install.

The current owner acquired the car in 2016 and drove it back to the UK from Switzerland. While it was still going well, given his previous experience with 2 door Range Rovers he thought that there were a few items that he felt needed attention and so he set about a comprehensive recommissioning. 

Almost £20,000 later, the car emerged with a fully rebuilt gearbox and transfer box, a rebuilt top end to the 3.5 litre V8 with new valves and springs (suitable for unleaded fuel), new clutch and release bearing, new universal joints on the propshafts, rebuilt carburettors, new old stock disks and callipers, an original exhaust system, new shocks and springs, mostly new suspension bushes, fresh oil throughout including in the diffs, one of the front spheres replaced and both re-greased and resealed. 

An MOT test in 2017 also listed corrosion at the body mounting points as an advisory and this was thoroughly investigated by Vitesse Engineering who stripped them back to bare metal to find only surface rust and then applied anti-corrosion treatment and underseal.

Since its recommissioning the car has been regularly used and serviced. Highlights have included a trouble-free trip for all the family to Southern Europe but with the vendor keen to add a pre-war car to his collection, he has decided to let this one go to a new owner to help to fund it.

Accompanying the car are two box files stuffed with receipts and invoices from throughout its life. The original bill of sale is present, together with the breakdown of all the work carried out by Symbol as well as the owner’s manual and service book. 

The current owner has continued to maintain a full set of records and there are invoices for all of the recent work including the remainder of the warranty for the rebuilt gearbox.

Other items of interest include the shipping manifests for sending it on holiday with the owner to destinations such as Hong Kong and the USA. A full set of CDs for the sat nav are also included, one for each country.

What’s not included is the selection of photographs from the car’s time in Monaco featuring celebrities from Joan Collins to Frank Sinatra of which the vendor has been made aware but has, as yet, not been able to track down. This might be an interesting project for the next owner and would make for a great addition to the car’s already fascinating history file.

A few years ago, when at a Range Rover meet, the current owner bumped into a chap who turned out to have worked at Symbol back in the Eighties and provided what he claimed was the origin story for the dashboard design. Apparently one of their customers who had ordered Range Rovers for all the family also had a Lamborghini Countach and really liked the dash design. 

So he asked for a Countach dash in a Range Rover and Symbol adopted it for other customers. Now, given that the Italian’s dash itself seems largely to have been inspired by shoe boxes we’re not sure how accurate this is but it’s a great story and, whatever the source of design inspiration for Symbol, the dash fronts an elegant and luxurious take on the Range Rover interior.

Although patinated, the cream leather on the seats remains soft and reportedly very comfortable while the four inch thick (yes, you read that correctly) Wilton carpets not only provide a luxury feel but also considerably more sound proofing than the standard items. A small medallion depicting St Christopher, the patron saint of motorists, adorns the centre console which also houses an interior temperature gauge (to check the air con is working, presumably) and ice warner unit. The solid walnut on the dash (no veneer here) shows some crazing to the lacquer and while the switches may not all have retained their labelling, they all function as intended, as do all the dials.

The CD radio looks to be of similar vintage to the sat nav unit which sits atop the flexible arm with its data coming from the CD reader under the central storage box. In the boot there is a full original toolkit and the delightful and seemingly unused picnic box, the contents of which suggest that picnics should be to some degree enjoyed with alcohol!

The external appearance of the car represents a fairly subtle and understated upgrade to the original shape with a light flare to the arches to accommodate the larger wheels. It presents well with paintwork that is all thought to be original, though no doubt with some small touch ups along the way and some fading on the roof which isn’t generally visible without a stepladder. There is some light bubbling at the base of the (aluminium, let’s not forget) doors but this has been there since the current owner collected the car and he reports that it has not worsened.

The wheels show only some light discolouration and wear tyres with good tread all round while the underside all looks to be solid. Having lived a good portion of its life in Switzerland with its famously strict MOT equivalent this isn’t a surprise but it’s nice to see that the condition has been maintained during its time in the UK.

As you would hope given the recommissioning work, it reportedly starts first time every time and pulls well with a smooth gearchange. The recently replaced springs and dampers are upgraded items and so the car handles well with less roll in the corners than you might expect and the new brakes perform well.

The interior upgrades conspire to make it rather quieter than standard and the owner reports that this, combined with the general ambience, mean that you have to resist the urge to deploy a royal wave!

With fewer than fifty thousand kilometres on the clock and only two owners, a standard 2 door Range Rover in this condition would be a real find. But the Symbol upgrades take it to another level and, combined with its well documented and storied history, make it a unique proposition.

The recent work that’s gone into making it fully usable again will present a dilemma for the next owner who will have to decide whether or not to press it into active service. Then there’s the potential challenge of tracking down the celebrity snaps that feature the car. But there are many ways to enjoy a delightful classic such as this one; if you want to add your mark to the rich narrative around this one-off Range Rover, then get your bid in without delay.