The Real Grand Tour

Is it still possible to buy a roadworthy Land Rover for £1000? And if you do, what will you end up with? Four of the LRM team put up their own cash to find out Story

- David Lillywhite

Late summer. The sun was shining,greenlanes were beckoning, and when the question “who wants to buy a £1000 LandRover?” was asked, four hands shot up.We’d all buy ‘Grand Rovers’ and go on an adventure. It would be great! And in an ever-more expensive world, it would prove whether or not it’s possible to buy an iconic vehicle in usable condition for less than some people pay for a TV.

But time went on. Weeks, then months, slipped by without money changing hands. We were busy. Work, families and other vehicles distracted us. So we set a winter deadline: we would be meeting in our £1000 Land Rovers at Red Wharf Bay, Anglesey, before heading to Snowdonia for a day of tough greenlaning, then on to the factory at Solihull via a rolling road, where our vehicles would be tested for power output and emissions.

Fast-forward some more, to a week before the deadline. From Ireland came the news that LRM technical consultant Trevor Cuthbert had bought a Discovery 2. Back in the office, Patrick was looking for a Freelander that had managed to retain four-wheel drive, deputy advertising manager Steve Miller was searching for a Tdi Disco 1 with the caveat that all it had to do was complete the ‘Grand Challenge’ tasks, and then if worst came to worst he could use the engine in his next Ninety project, and I’d set my heart on a P38 Range Rover, having given up on the deluded idea that a Series III or early One-Ten might turn up for less than four figures. In case you’rewonderingwho thehell I am, I’ve had the grand title of editorial director of Land Rover Monthly for a couple of years, but spend most of my time editing magazine stable mate Octane. Anyway, back to business – or not...