It might look like one of the most unappealing hunks of metal ever consigned to a scrap yard, but this clapped-out Land Rover could be about to be sold for a staggering £200,000.
Despite the fact that it’s obviously a bit worse for wear, this rusting Landie is in actual fact the first-ever production Land Rover Defender made with a diesel engine, dating all the way back to 1957.
Although production of the venerable Defender sadly came to an end last week after almost 70 years, fans could now get their hands on this ultra-rare model after its owner has listed it on eBay.
Land Rover enthusiast Tim Hughes bought the neglected Series I Defender more than a decade ago, and has kept it tucked away ever since, with the vehicle not having been used in nearly 35 years.
Originally, all Series I models came with petrol engines until 1957, when the first diesel-engined models were built, and Tim’s Land Rover is the very first diesel version to roll off the production line.
Speaking to the Mirror, he said: “I understand that there was five prototypes built in 1956 and this vehicle was the first ever production of the Diesel 88-inch.”
The car’s chassis number points to it being the first production model, and when it left the Solihull factory line it would originally have cost around £800 brand new.
Having rolled off the production line on January 15th 1957, the Land Rover was originally owned by Rover, before being sold to a man who kept it until 1974.
An 88-inch wheelbase model with an open bodyshell, the seller points out that the pick-up cab was home-made and added later on by a previous owner.
By the early 1980s, the Landie had reached the end of its working life and was simply left in a field for 20 years, until Tim bought it and put it in storage, where it has remained ever since.
Now, he’s listed it on eBay with a guide price of an eye-watering £200,000 - more than six times the price of a new Defender - but Tim insists that its provenance makes it worth the money.
Despite the cost, however, the Land Rover quite obviously needs a significant amount of work: it doesn’t have its original diesel engine, and Tim is unsure whether the transmission works either.
“It needs a number of thousands being spent on it,” he said. “I am an engineer and I would love to fix it but I don't have the time.”
If the Land Rover is successfully sold, it will enter the history books for not only being the first diesel-engined Land Rover, but also for being one of the most expensive Land Rovers ever sold.
However, currently the record for the priciest Land Rover sold is held by the commemorative two millionth Defender model, which was auctioned off by Bonhams last year for £400,000.
