IVE R S U L VE W EXCND ROREVIE LA ER P N OW
25 YEARS OF CELEBRATE 25 YEARS OF THE ORIGINAL LAND ROVER MAGAZINE REPORT
CONGRATULATIONS FROM
1988
25 YEARS OF
After numerous well-documented business troubles, British Leyland is broken up and privatised by the British government. The Rover Group, including Land Rover, is bought by aircraft and munitions company British Aerospace, a controversial sale that sees the government write off Rover’s debt.
Got an event planned?
UK EVENT OF THE MONTH
If so, give Neil Watterson a ring on 01733 468237 or email him at neil@lro.com
Far left: The Military Lightweight Club provided plenty of entertainment. Left: Steve Forster’s tattoo shows admirable dedication to the cause – it took 28 hours to get this far. Below left: Tasty Defender/pizza oven combo kept the faithful fed. Below: V8 racer built for just £3000. Bottom: Monster Tuning’s 8x8 Defender is pure excess in every area
PHOTOS: MATT HOWELL
IN JULY 1987 THERE WERE ONLY TWO MODEL RANGES: ONE FOR LAND ROVER, ONE FOR RANGE ROVER. PETER SKILTON AND MARK SAVILLE UNITE THEM WITH THEIR 2012 EQUIVALENTS. AFTER ALL THIS TIME, ARE THEY SO VERY DIFFERENT?
1989
OLD vs NEW September’s Frankfurt Motor Show sees the launch of the hotly anticipated Discovery 1. It’s Land Rover’s first new vehicle since the Range Rover was launched in 1970.
8 LRO July 2012
July 2012 LRO 9
afield this year too. A strong French contingent made themselves at home at the campsite and the Dutch weren’t far behind them, showing the levels of commitment that European enthusiasts have for the green oval. ‘It’s all the parts in the autojumble,’ explained Mathieu Giraud, when asked why he had travelled all the way from Epernay in France to visit the show. The lure of the autojumble seemed to have been the main attraction for a number of showgoers, all hoping to find the elusive parts they’d long been searching for. The serious buyers picked their way through the crowds, dragging wheeled trolleys precariously loaded with bumpers, wheels and a whole array of assorted parts. As a measure of how busy it was, I had to give up trying to chat to Alan Walker at Avenger 4x4 from Peterborough as he was being inundated by bartering bidders for his wide range of Land Rover spares. It wasn’t just the used parts that sold well. Flatdog 4x4 had a record-breaking show, which included selling out its first imported batch of the ÂŁ1197 Tentco Pro roof tent: showgoers were clearly won over by its great value for money. One of the highlights for LRO, though, was when Steve Forster turned up on the LRO stand. Before uttering a word, Steve had taken off his coat and was rolling up his shirt sleeve to reveal his Land Rover-inspired tattoo. ‘It took 28 hours to complete,’ said Steve, proudly exhibiting the creation that showcases a Series I, II and III in perfect detail – from his shoulder to his wrist.
driffield delights LAND ROVER SPRING ADVENTURE
The first big Land Rover show of this year put everyone on a high, with a great mix of extreme vehicles, fun people and good weather, as Peter Skilton reports
B
efore I’d even arrived at May’s Spring Adventure, I knew I was in for a good weekend. The sun was shining, which helped, and the closer I got to the Driffield Showground the more Land Rovers joined in what seemed to be a never-ending convoy – all towing caravans, show vehicles or loaded up to the hilt with tents and camping equipment. The A614 was buzzing with excitement that seemed to pass from vehicle to vehicle. The Spring Adventure in Yorkshire has become synonymous with the start of the show season, with crowds – predominantly from the north of England – flocking to be a part of this first gathering. And there were plenty of showgoers from further 84 LRO July 2012
NEW LAND ROVER TESTS
EVENT REPORTS
(FU PVS EFmOJUJWF WJFX PO UIF MBUFTU NPEFMT
3PVOE VQT GSPN UIF CFTU FWFOUT JO UIF 6, BOE CFZPOE
2012 Land Rover Defender 90 TDCi and Range Rover L322 Westminster meet their ’80s equivalents.
Europe’s toughest off-road challenge event, the Croatia Trophy, and The Spring Adventure in association with Land Rover Owner *OUFSOBUJPOBM BU %SJGmFME RELIVING THE CAMEL TROPHY IN BORNEO
JAMES ROVERPHILE WITH TAYLOR
IN THE TRACKS OF THE CAMEL
JP AT LARGE
PG TIPS
CLICK TO
WIN A SET OF TYRES
DELVE INTO THE ODDEST CORNERS OF LAND ROVER HISTORY, WHERE LOST ITEMS LURK AND SNIPPETS OF FASCINATING INFORMATION COME TO THE SURFACE
VERSATILITY
IT’S ON TAPE
Towards the end of the 1980s, tape decals became the latest styling accessory for every 4x4, instigated by Japanese manufacturers. The first on Land Rovers (the 1988 County models) came as a bit of a shock, but it shouldn’t have been a surprise when the Discovery was announced in 1989 with GALILEE PETER
some fairly loud tape stripes on the side. It was, though. I’ve recently come across a whole series of photographs showing trials with different tape designs. I think these date from between 1987 and ‘88, although it’s a little hard to tell. Some of the designs certainly entered production on 1989 models. Pictured below are a couple of favourites that didn’t make production.
IT’S A NUMBERS GAME WHEN DOES RARE ACTUALLY MEAN RARE – AND WHAT DOES THIS DO TO VALUES? PETER SCRATCHES HIS HEAD AS HE CONSIDERS THE PERPLEXING CASE OF THE SERIES I STATION WAGON ILLUSTRATION: GRAHAM GACHES
n the May 2012 issue, I noted that 107 station wagons are becoming affordable as restoration projects. However, since saying this I’ve had to recalibrate ‘affordable’. Certainly 107s used to be rare, but lately Series I long-wheelbase station wagons have been popping up all over the place. Some look good but generally these are not UK versions; they’re from places where the sun shines. However, even in the UK, previously unknown 107 station the wagons are surfacing. Maybe recession is driving them out of look their hiding places, as owners to bolster flagging bank balances. As for ‘affordable’, a 107 SW just sold in New Zealand for $50, which but is about ÂŁ26. It needed work, even a few spare parts from it would be worth more than that.
I
wouldn’t be any riveting, cappings or detail work. Once this is understood, it’s easy to see how assembling a shortthe wheelbase station wagon on be standard assembly line would no problem. Doors and bulkhead the would arrive already trimmed, back body tub would have the hinge points for the side-opening rear door already fitted. The hard top would be lowered on fully finished – tropical roof, windows, off interior lamp etc, all assembled the line. The lamp’s wiring simply on connected to a bullet-fastener fast. and Easy dash. the top of So, assembling a shorty station wagon wasn’t much different a from assembling a hard top or canvas-topped pick-up. Because of this Rover never gave them a ‘station wagon’ chassis-prefix identifier; it just used the same
Thecould upper photo shows some County stripes on a 1989 the longget more you means more whichwindow-hard-top model-year One Ten. Behind it is a Disco wheelbase, Assuming a better ride. andprototype seatstest with its ‘bread van’ hard-top disguise. you had the extra cash, the longThe other picture shows a striking colour-scheme for wheelbase was better value. the are tapes a Onewhy Ten; they may actually be on the same reasons fouron There been have worked well with light colours, vehicle. The have red would there may I think station fewer butshort-wheelbase it appears Land Rover’s accountants limited the colour than everyone imagines. wagons schemes available, and red UK was one of the casualties. Firstly, in countries outside the the where tax and shipping made purchasing decision look different, for a buyers were more likely to go long-wheelbase version. Secondly, more and more 107s are turning up, so the balance between the rare long-wheelbase and the less-rare short-wheelbase station wagons is changing. Thirdly, UK-based perceptions of about the relative survival rates long- and short-wheelbase station the wagons are distorted because in government bought the SWB
Zealand for $50NZ ‘A 107 SW recently sold in New work, but it’s worth (that’s about ÂŁ26). Sure, it needed spare parts’ far more than that just for the quantity. But it’s unlikely there All this has made me think about the less-spectacular (but much more park-able) Series I short-wheelbase station wagons, especially as I’ve got one. Like the long-wheelbase versions, they are around. But unlike the 107 station wagons with their special chassis and complex construction, the shorties are just a lot of special parts added to a standard pick-up. As far as Rover’s production process was concerned, parts would arrive at the production line as sub-assemblies whenever possible. For example, a complete back body would be swung into place, ready to bolt down. There
204 LRO July 2012
numbering system as normal short-wheelbase models. And because of this, they appear as ‘Basic’ in Rover’s build records, which is the same description used for soft tops and hard tops. Result: nobody has a clue how many were made. The consensus among enthusiasts seems to be that the long-wheelbase Series I station wagon was the rare item and the shortie was more common. But is this right? According to the 1957 price list the 88in petrol regular (soft top) cost ÂŁ630; the 88in petrol station wagon cost ÂŁ1058 and the 107in petrol station wagon cost ÂŁ1223. From this we see that for ÂŁ165
would have been governmentbought batches of SWB station wagons in every country to which Land Rovers were exported. Finally, when SWB station wagons were scrapped, it was easy to transplant their special parts on to a standard pick-up and transform that into a station wagon, so there are apparently still a lot of survivors. That didn’t were happen with the 107s, which so simply scrapped or left to rot, they are now apparently rarer. I wonder just how many factorybuilt short-wheelbase Series I in station wagons are still hiding the woodwork?
GIVE ’EM A MEDAL
The 20th anniversary of the Range Rover in 1990 wasn’t celebrated by a limited edition in the UK. All the publicity thrust at the time went into the then-new Discovery (launched in autumn 1989), so the celebrations were saved until 1991 for the Range Rover’s 21st anniversary. That’s when we got the limited-edition CSK. However, the 20th anniversary didn’t go entirely unnoticed. If you’d been working on Range Rover assembly in 1990, you’d have been given a special gold-coloured medal. The medals were issued in June
Old adverts can be fascinating, as much for what they reveal about their period as for what they say about the product. I rediscovered this one in my archive recently. Issued in October 1970, it was clearly intended to link the original Range Rover closely to Rover’s saloon cars rather than to Land Rovers. That pleased the marketing people, but it actually caused some Land Rover diehards to wonder whether the Range Rover was really as tough as a Land Rover. Rover had two other car models in production at the time: the P5B saloon and coupÊ, both powered by the same V8 as the Range Rover and 3500 (P6) pictured. I guess the reason they didn’t figure in the ad was because they were old designs, which wouldn’t have given the right image.
COLOUR MATTERS
These days, we’re used to colour photography for everything, and black-and-white stuff is used only for artistic effect – or where no colour exists. That’s the case with most early Land Rover factory photography. I remember pointing out to Land Rover PR man Vin Hammersley some time around 1993 that most of its competitors were issuing colour shots to the media, and asked pretty pointedly why Land Rover didn’t do so. Vin was a little ruffled, but it wasn’t long before colour press shots became standard Land Rover issue. Sometimes, colour does matter. I’ve seen lots of black-and-white pictures of the Land Rover exhibition unit, which I believe was originally painted green and
that year, originally in a protective packet, and came with a letter that presumably explained what the item was. I’d never seen one until Gary Pusey recently came up with this medal. A bit of trawling on the web (with help from engineer Geof Miller’s wife, Pat) found the information. One was sold on eBay recently. There must have been hundreds issued, but I wonder how many are still around?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LRO
JOHN PEARSON
A LOT HAS HAPPENED TO LRO DURING
T
wenty-five years of being the world’s best Land Rover magazine is something for this publication to be proud of, and I’m honoured to have played a part in its success for the past 10 years. Other mags have come and gone since LRO was launched in July 1987, but we’ve worked hard to maintain its position as the market leader in the UK and around the world. I do hope you enjoy this special issue that takes a look back at some of the highlights of the past 25 years. So much has happened since LRO was launched and since I started editing the magazine. However, the takeover of (and subsequent massive investment in) Land Rover by Tata in recent times has been a real catalyst to prolific product development. One can’t help but wonder what the next 25 years will bring.
ITS 25-YEAR HISTORY – AND MUCH OF THAT HAS BEEN SHAPED BY THE CHAP WHO WRITES THIS COLUMN ILLUSTRATION: KAR LEE
yellow. What I hadn’t seen was pictures of it in the British Leyland colours of blue and white. So here is one, taken by Land Rover’s Roger Crathorne some time around 1973, before BL and the blue-and-white became something you didn’t mention in polite society.
MEANWHILE
Land Rover is tantalising the press by revealing increasingly less camouflaged versions of the new Range Rover (see p40), and the Solihull factory is getting itself ready for production. Meanwhile, the company is quietly putting another production line into its Halewood factory, ready for the upcoming new seven-seat Freelander. The existing Halewood line – which produces Freelander 2s, Evoques and some Jaguar models – wouldn’t be able to cope with the longer-wheelbase version, hence the new facility.
The Defenders took river crossings in their stride – the Range Rover less so
which leads me to speculate on how much of that has been diverted to the Beckham bank account. A million or two for using her name and creative input? I never saw her smile during any of the presentations, but she really ought to have done.
A
s birthday celebrations go, this was really something. My husband Martin and I have been members of Land Rover Owners Malaysia (LROM) for 14 years and were invited to join in its 15th anniversary celebration – to drive part of the old Camel Trophy route, zig-zagging our way through four states of Kalimantan in Borneo. We didn’t need asking twice. Kalimantan is the name given to the three-quarters of Borneo owned by Indonesia. The rest of this massive island is Malaysian territory, with the exception of the tiny independent state of Brunei on the northern coast. Renowned for its tropical forests, challenging topography and rich cultural mix, Kalimantan has all the great ingredients for an adventure off the beaten track. Our expedition composed of seven Land Rovers which mustered at Kuching in the Malaysian-owned north to transport 18 club members and three invited friends. After being flagged off from the hotel by the local parliamentary minister and two representatives from Land Rover Malaysia, we headed south towards the Indonesian border. We had two breakdowns along the way – not the ideal start – but both were easily fixed. Crossing into Indonesia took two hours, which wasn’t bad considering it involved 21 passports being stamped, two Brits buying visas and seven Land Rovers clearing customs. Our first stop was the Mount Hope Training Centre in Balai Karangan, where we unloaded large bags of provisions donated by LROM. Bob Teoh, one of our team of adventurers, helps to run the centre, a foundation established to help the poor among the Dayak tribal
NO RGS OVERLAND WORKSHOP IN 2012
I was disappointed to learn that Sam Watson has had to cancel the RGS (Royal Geographical Society) Overland Workshop he has run in Yorkshire for the past few years. I always look forward to this one, which has been a delightful gathering for overlanders, whether experienced or aspirational. It’s been a simple event – two days of lectures by people who have been there and done it, interspersed with opportunities to meet with lots of
‘Land Rover is tantalising the less camouflaged versions of press with increasingly the new Range Rover’ COMING SOON
One of the early front covers during my editorship featured our scoop drive in the Range Rover L322. We were seriously impressed with its overall package of luxury matched with extreme capability – and Land Rover has continued to improve it over the past decade, keeping it very much as the vehicle that other manufacturers dream of matching. The only real chinks in its armour have been its weight and fuel consumption. Now these are being addressed with the next-generation Range Rover, due to be confirmed this autumn and to go on sale in 2013. 198 LRO July 2012
The use of an aluminium chassis and panels, along with other lighter-weight materials, will help shed about 400kg, which will surely play a big part in reducing fuel consumption – as will a reputed hybrid version.
In fact, word has it that there are so many differences between the Evoque and Freelander that it would have been better to have put in a new line for the Evoque.
VB EDITION EVOQUE
Talking of the Evoque, I can’t help wondering how much Victoria Beckham was paid for her input into the special edition that bears her name. With the £80,000 price tag being double that of the 2.0-litre four-cylinder model it’s based on, Land Rover will make an extra £8 million for the 200 examples. Yes, there are some expensive extras, but it must have been a very lucrative operation‌
like-minded people. I’ve travelled the world quite a bit myself, but I always came away from each workshop having learned a lot. Sam has always booked inspirational speakers, such as world travellers Tom Sheppard and Peter Crichton, but equally enjoyable have been the talks given by the likes of LRO’s Mark Saville on his adventures in the famous PSL 193, his 1957 Series I. Although Sam had to change the venue when the original location was double-booked, it was all looking good for 2012. Then some local RGS bureaucracy forced him to cancel the event – which is a real shame.
There were plenty of bush repairs – or should that be jungle? Here the fan gets some attention
WHAT BETTER WAY TO CELEBRATE A CLUB’S ANNIVERSARY THAN TACKLING THE TERRAIN OF THE OLD CAMEL TROPHY ROUTE IN KALIMANTAN, BORNEO? LIZ LEWIS TAKES US ON A TRIP THROUGH ORANGUTAN COUNTRY
PHOTOS: IGOR MANINTA, LIZ LEWIS, BOB TEOH
CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE & RECEIVE A SCREWDRIVER SET
WHO: Liz Lewis WHERE: Kalimantan, Borneo VEHICLE: Defender 110 300Tdi
July 2012 CLASSIC LRO 143
peoples, both practically and spiritually. It looks after 100 boarding children and outreaches another 300 children in the local villages. With the goods now being safely stored, we continued our journey. The tarmac roads didn’t last long. Small villages of wooden-stilted houses flanked narrow potholed roads, and having to dodge traffic slowed us down. Darkness falls quickly in this part of the world and many local vehicles had no rear lights, so safe progress was slow. By now we’d given up trying to make the last ferry at Tayan and around 8pm we pulled into what the guys ominously called a ‘lost man’ budget hotel. Our expectations of Kalimantan were based on memories of Camel Trophy videos, but so far it wasn’t quite what we’d expected. Things had changed since the event passed this way in 1996 – traditional old wooden homes were now adorned with solar panels and nearly everybody boasted a satellite dish. Next morning we took the ferry from Tayan across the Sungai Kapuas, one of the widest rivers in Indonesia, to Maliau. On the way to Delang we were expecting old trails and jungle tracks, but found compacted, mostly graded roads with many new stretches of tarmac. It was dark by the time we arrived at our lodgings – a stilted wooden longhouse 10 feet off the ground. There was a balcony at the front for relaxing and a small, open side landing adjacent to the main room with two huge water drums where the guys would shower al fresco. There was a loo with water butt for the girls. Dinner was served in the longhouse, which was divided into one side for eating and one where we could spread our sleeping bags out.
76 LRO July 2012
EXPERT WRITERS -FBSO GSPN UIF XPSME T NPTU LOPXMFEHFBCMF BOE FOUIVTJBTUJD -BOE 3PWFS FYQFSUT t LRO welcomes back Land Rover authority James Taylor and his Roverphile column, which charts the weird and wonderful of the Land Rover world.
This constitutes a bridge in Kalimantan. Caution is the key in this environment
The author’s husband Martin (left) with event leader Atek
TEAM VEHICLES Q Defender 110 300Tdi (aka Speedy) From: Indonesia Q Defender 110 300Tdi (aka Luke) From: Malaysia Q Defender 110 300Tdi (aka Dusty) From: Malaysia Q Range Rover Classic 300Tdi From: Malaysia Q Defender 110 300Tdi Philippines (aka V8) From: Phillipines Q Series IIA Lightweight (aka Nice Butt) From: Singapore Q Defender 90 (aka Sweeper) From: Malaysia
The ‘fuel stop’ consisted of plastic containers stored at a wooden hut next to the provisions store – no service stations here. There was another stretch of tarmac before the route reverted to jungle track for 30 miles. It was packed and rutted earth, with dodgy bridges to negotiate, along with gullies, mud and water pools – the lot. It would have been a serious challenge had it rained! We passed through Pangkalanbuun and in the middle of nowhere found a service station – a real one, with pumps and everything. We all filled up before continuing for Kumai. Too late to go to the hotel, we headed straight to the ferry port, and obtained permission to camp overnight at the Tourist Office. Next morning we headed on foot for the 6.30am boat that would take us up the Sekonyer River to the Leakey Orangutan Sanctuary in the Tangjun Puting National Park, four hours upstream. Here, Suswi, an old female orangutan, greeted us at the entrance, posed for photos then walked with us up the path, surprising and delighting one of our troupe when she grabbed his hand as he walked. Lunch wasn’t for 20 minutes, but there were already orangutans in the trees, all with babies. We were told that in the months when there was no fruit in the surrounding jungle, the centre fed up to 100 a day. The following day we had nearly 40 miles of tracks to negotiate to get to Sampit, the busy intersection of several main roads. We refuelled at a roadside stall, ironically opposite a modern filling station that had ‘no fuel’ signs up. More than 80 stranded lorries queued outside. We pushed on, up the broken roads, as fast as we could, ending the day at July 2012 LRO 77
GREAT ADVENTURES &YQFSJFODF BMM DPSOFST PG UIF HMPCF PGG UIF CFBUFO USBDL The 25 greatest adventures from 25 years of LRO, plus driving Borneo’s Camel Trophy routes and rock-crawling in Texas.