Description
The Land Rover has been a sales success since its introduction in 1948. The first model series was built until spring 1958.
Our vehicle is a very early example (No. 856) of the second series. This second series was built for just over three years in total, up to autumn 1961. In the first six months of the second series, the two-litre engines from the first series were still fitted. Of these, only 1, 703 vehicles were affected.
Later, precisely these vehicles were often converted to later specifications. The car presented here is therefore an extremely rare example due to its originality and condition.
The very early history of this Land Rover is not known. It seems to have arrived in Germany toward the end of the 1970s and was then dry-stored for about 25 years. Afterwards there was a first restoration attempt, which was abandoned due to lack of time. The current owner purchased the car in 2020 and then started its restoration anew – the result of which we can now admire.
British cult classic meets German precision in detail.
In well over 1, 000 hours of work the car was brought without compromise to its current, better-than-new condition. In addition, parts and tasks such as the paintwork were invested around €25, 000.
As part of the restoration the chassis was refurbished, the bodywork stripped and rebuilt, and all technical parts overhauled. There is no area that was not restored to the highest standard. The Land Rover is painted in the then Land Rover colour “Dark Grey” and here too the love of detail was paramount: all body irregularities created, for example, by rivets were left absolutely authentically as they were and not artificially smoothed away.
Since the completion of the restoration the car has been driven for setting runs 162 miles (261 kilometres).
A YouTube video about the Land Rover can be watched here: - details above
A Land Rover suitable for a collection or as a classic counterpart to a modern Defender, or simply to experience pure off-road driving.
This Land Rover is a collectable car because....
- It is a very rare model;
- It has been restored at great expense;
- It is very authentic and yet better than new.
The car is here in Bad Essen for a test drive.
If you have any questions or interest, please feel free to contact me.
