Description
H&H Classic Auction @Pavilion Gardens | Buxton, Derbyshire
27th Nov, 2024 13:00
1955 Land Rover 86'
Estimate £16, 000 - £18, 000
Registration No: SFO 926
Chassis No: 57104809
MOT: Exempt
In current ownership since 2008
Subject to new paintwork throughout the body
Fitted with 'Bikini' top and rear tonneau cover
The Land Rover’s 1595cc, 50bhp four-cylinder Rover engine might seem under-powered today, but its 80lb-ft of torque was impressive. There was permanent four-wheel drive, leaf-sprung suspension and not much else for your £450 when it was launched at the Amsterdam Motor Show in April 1948. Any kind of extra equipment came at an additional cost, but the orders started to come in. The very first Land Rover registered was one of the Amsterdam Motor Show cars on 21 May 1948, and full production began at Solihull shortly after. Rover soon saw that the vehicle’s appeal went beyond expectations. In 1949 the British Army placed its first order. It wanted 1, 878; so many, that the decision was made to paint all Land Rovers in the Army’s Dark Green and they saw their first action the following year, in the Korean War. The Red Cross ordered its first Land Rovers in 1954, and its relationship with the marque endures to this day.
In 1954, Solihull made its 100, 000th Land Rover and by the time the Series I was replaced in 1958, nearly 200, 000 had been produced. With 70 per cent exported, the principles that Maurice Wilks first sketched in the sand at Red Wharf Bay in Anglesey had been put into practice across the world.
This Series 1, from 1955, has resided in current ownership since 2008. In that time the current vendor has refreshed the look of 'SFO 926' with new paintwork throughout the body. The wheels have also been refurbished and repainted. Currently wearing a recently added 'Bikini' top; light and open enough for summer driving, the Series 1 is also offered with a full canopy frame without the fabric and a rear tonneau cover. Inside, new seats have also been added in the vehicle's current ownership. 'SFO 926' is offered with a V5C document.
