Photo: Tim Hughes
The classic car market can be a very crazy place sometimes, but this offer right here might just beat them all. This mildew-green with the occasional brownish accent Land Rover is currently going for no less than £200,000 (about $300,000).
It’s true, the Land Rover has just been discontinued this year, so the value for this model might go up, but there has to be something other than the fact that you can’t buy one new to justify such a ridiculously high price.
And, rest assured, there is. Kind of. First of all, this is a Series One Defender produced in 1957, so that alone unquestionably confers it the status of classic vehicle. What’s more, almost all of the (remaining) parts are original, which is great news for anyone interested in a restoration process. But this vehicle in particular hides another trait that sets it apart from the other 1957 Defenders.
After 68 years in production, the Solihull factory sent the last Land Rover Defender out its gates at the end of last month. Like most other cars the company sold lately, it was powered by a diesel engine. Much like the car hiding under that layer of scorched paint.
So what, you’ll say, that’s still not enough to warrant such a price. In fact, it’s absolutely irrelevant, especially if you consider it doesn’t even have an engine fitted in. And that the one resting on its bed isn’t the original one. Or that the car has no headlights, no windshield, and virtually no interior trim. If this is a joke, nobody’s laughing.
A look at the car’s chassis number would clear the waters. This Defender that Tim Hughes is advertising on eBay is the first ever diesel Defender to be built in Solihull. It was an 88-inch wheelbase model with an open bodyshell, the roof seen in the pictures being a later add-on. Since its birth on January 15, 1957, this Defender had served on a farm until 1982, when its services were no longer required and was left to decay. This is what nearly 34 years of neglect look like.
It’s hard to tell if the price is indeed obscene or not. A Land Rover fan with money to spend might be interested in restoring this vehicle as it certainly has plenty of historical value, but it would be a challenging endeavor, one that would also require finding an engine fit for a car whose main talking point is... the engine. Which it doesn’t have. Confused yet?
And, rest assured, there is. Kind of. First of all, this is a Series One Defender produced in 1957, so that alone unquestionably confers it the status of classic vehicle. What’s more, almost all of the (remaining) parts are original, which is great news for anyone interested in a restoration process. But this vehicle in particular hides another trait that sets it apart from the other 1957 Defenders.
After 68 years in production, the Solihull factory sent the last Land Rover Defender out its gates at the end of last month. Like most other cars the company sold lately, it was powered by a diesel engine. Much like the car hiding under that layer of scorched paint.
So what, you’ll say, that’s still not enough to warrant such a price. In fact, it’s absolutely irrelevant, especially if you consider it doesn’t even have an engine fitted in. And that the one resting on its bed isn’t the original one. Or that the car has no headlights, no windshield, and virtually no interior trim. If this is a joke, nobody’s laughing.
A look at the car’s chassis number would clear the waters. This Defender that Tim Hughes is advertising on eBay is the first ever diesel Defender to be built in Solihull. It was an 88-inch wheelbase model with an open bodyshell, the roof seen in the pictures being a later add-on. Since its birth on January 15, 1957, this Defender had served on a farm until 1982, when its services were no longer required and was left to decay. This is what nearly 34 years of neglect look like.
It’s hard to tell if the price is indeed obscene or not. A Land Rover fan with money to spend might be interested in restoring this vehicle as it certainly has plenty of historical value, but it would be a challenging endeavor, one that would also require finding an engine fit for a car whose main talking point is... the engine. Which it doesn’t have. Confused yet?
Google News