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Land Rover S1 Station Wagon

Land Rover S1 Station WagonLand Rover S1 Station WagonLand Rover S1 Station WagonLand Rover S1 Station Wagon
Lot number 41
Hammer value £4000
Description Land Rover S1 Station Wagon
Registration NEH 293
Year 1949
Colour Green
Engine size 1,600 cc
Chassis No. R866-5168

History

Right from its launch in 1948, it was realised that some buyers would want a Land Rover's abilities without the spartan interiors. In 1949 Land Rover launched a second body option called the Station Wagon, fitted with a body built by Tickford, a coachbuilder known for their work with Rolls-Royce and Lagonda. The bodywork was wooden-framed with an aluminium skin and had seating for 7 people.

Tickford station wagons were very well equipped in comparison with the standard Land Rover, having leather seats, a heater, a one-piece laminated windscreen, a tin-plate spare wheel cover, some interior trim and other options. The wooden construction made them expensive to build and tax laws made this worse - unlike the original Land Rover, the Tickford was taxed as a private car, which attracted high levels of Purchase Tax. As a result, just 641 Tickford built vehicles were sold, and all but 50 were exported. Today these early Station Wagons are highly sought after and less than two dozen are known to survive, mainly held in museum collections.

This particular Land Rover is a bit of a mystery. According to the Gaydon Heritage archives, it left the Solihull factory as a standard 80-inch on 28th April 1949 and was despatched to Longton Garages of Stoke-on-Trent. However it was not registered for the road until June 30th, with the number plate NEH 293. The speculation is that it had spent the intervening two months being rebodied into the style you see today – very similar to a Tickford but not identical.

'Land Rover Enthusiast' magazine carried a four-page feature on this vehicle in their August 2007 issue (a copy of which is in the history folder) and concluded that we may never know the true story of the vehicle as there is a big gap in its history from new until 1967 when it turned up in Congleton, Cheshire. Their best guess was that it had probably been copied from a Tickford by a local bodyshop.  

The vendor would like to believe that it may have been an early prototype for the Tickford but, as yet, there is no evidence to support this. The vehicle is in remarkably original condition having been kept in dry storage in Cannock from 1973 until earlier this year. The 1.6-litre engine is said to run but the vehicle will obviously need substantial recommissioning before it can be pressed back into use.

Altogether a most rare and fascinating early Land Rover that might amply reward the further investigation that is now required. 

Thanks to James Taylor and Land Rover Enthusiast magazine for supplying these photographs.

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