Close window
Print details

Range Rover Classic

Range Rover Classic

Click Here for Full Screen Image - Click Here to Download Image

Range Rover ClassicRange Rover ClassicRange Rover ClassicRange Rover ClassicRange Rover Classic
Range Rover ClassicRange Rover ClassicRange Rover ClassicRange Rover ClassicRange Rover Classic
Range Rover ClassicRange Rover Classic
Lot number 63
Hammer value N/S (est. £6,000 - £8,000)
Description Range Rover Classic
Registration A184 HFK
Year 1983
Colour Masai Red
Engine size 3,528 cc
Chassis No. SALLHAMV7AA136809
Engine No. 17D00456A
Documents V5C; current MOT; 16 old MOTs; handbook

Long before the advent of modern computers which can do millions of complex calculations in the time it takes to make a cup of tea, there was a saying amongst aeronautical engineers: ‘If it looks right, it is right’.

Just one quick glance at the original Range Rover proves the saying in spades. Has there ever been a more functional car design than this? Utterly devoid of any unnecessary fripperies, it was designed purely to do a job of work: to carry up to five people more or less anywhere they wanted to go, on or off road, in conditions of tolerable comfort.

Like a propeller or a Viking longship, the fact that it also looked beautiful was a result of the happy accident that occurs when form so closely follows function. No wonder it was put on display at the Louvre in Paris as an ‘exemplary work of industrial design’.

Launched in 1970 and only available as a two-door until 1981, it also had only one choice of engine, the Buick-derived all-alloy 3.5-litre V8 from the Rover P5B saloon. Detuned slightly for better off-road tractability and mated to the mandatory 4-speed manual gearbox, it produced 135bhp and could propel the 1,830kg 4x4 to 60mph in 15 seconds on its way to a top speed of 96mph. Performance that was at least on a par with most family cars of the era. Options like leather seating, an automatic gearbox and a diesel engine did not make an appearance until the mid-1980s.

This Masai Red Range Rover was bought new by a Shropshire village publican in September 1983 who was to keep it right up until his death in 2009. It then passed to the owner of the local garage who had looked after it for most of its life and was to keep it for the next six years, but never really used the vehicle. Although there is no service history with the car, we are assured that it has always been well maintained, being repainted to a high standard about 20 years ago and receiving a new headlining and a new clutch much more recently.

In storage for the last 5 years, it has recently been recommissioned by a new third owner at a cost of £1,543. This included four new tyres; a new brake calliper; two headlamps; two rear shocks; fuel pump; washer pump; battery; distributor, wiper blades etc. A new MOT was obtained and the car is now said to be running sweetly and will be driven some 150 miles to the sale.

Early Range Rovers tended to lead hard lives in inhospitable terrain and it is rare to find one so nicely preserved as this. The model has enjoyed a surge in interest of late (the editor of Octane magazine being an enthusiastic owner and devotee) and values have risen accordingly.

Close window
Print details