Every cloud has a silver lining. Imagine signing up to JLR Classic's Reborn programme and then suffering the disappointment of being told that your vehicle wasn't going to happen thanks to the programme winding down during Covid. Then, before you have finished crying over your spilt tilt, they instead offer you a historically important Range Rover Velar, chassis number four no less. JLR already had the car and would restore it to asnew condition, no easy task with these pre-production prototypes on which everything is slightly different. Oh, and the car you were getting also had an experimental V8 in it.
This is Octane, so you don't need to be told which Velar we are not talking about, but you might need to know which Velar we are talking about. In the company records, early Range Rover history is hand-written but detailed and has the advantage of Mr Land Rover, Roger Crathorne, still being around to unravel it. There is even an excellent book on the first 50 vehicles, by him, Geof Miller (who also worked on the original project), Gary Pusey and James Taylor, published by Brooklands Books.
The Range Rover, aimed at an American market it would then not enter for decades, was devised by Spen King and Gordon Bashford as a softer, leisure Land Rover and was developed from 1966 to 1970. Those in the know will tell you that the Velars comprise the seven full prototypes - of which two still exist - plus the pre-production cars and that they were allegedly christened as much as a near-portmanteau of Alvis and Rover as the word's coincidentally plausible meanings in both Spanish ('vigil') and Italian ('cover').
Denne historien er fra October 2024-utgaven av Octane.
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Denne historien er fra October 2024-utgaven av Octane.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Will China Change Everything? - China is tearing up modern motor manufacture but is yet to make more than a ripple in the classic car world. That could be about to change dramatically
China now dominates the automotive world in a way even Detroit in its heyday would have struggled to comprehend.Helped by Government incentives, the new car world is dominated by China's industries: whether full cars that undercut Western models by huge amounts, ownership of storied European brands such as Lotus and Volvo, or ownership and access to the vast majority of raw materials that go into EV cars, its influence is far-reaching and deep. However, this automotive enlightenment hasn't manifested itself in the classic world in any meaningful way - until now.
Jem Marsh
The hard-bitten Marcos boss was driven like few others and never knew when he was beaten. Thankfully
Vandamm House
A Mid-Century Modernist masterpiece that was immortalised on celluloid - despite never actually existing
Making light
Alfa Romeo's post-war renaissance began with the 1900 saloon - and matured with Zagato's featherweight coupé version, as Jay Harvey discovers
FULL OF EASTERN PROMISE
Is burgeoning classic car interest in the Middle East good for the global classic market? Nathan Chadwick investigates
Before the beginning
This rare Amazon Green pre-production Range Rover is Velar chassis number 4. James Elliott charts its historically revealing factory restoration
Ben Cussons
As the outgoing chairman of the Royal Automobile Club hands on to his successor, Robert Coucher quizzes him about the evolution of this great British institution
BULLDOG & THE PUPPIES
We gather five motoring masterpieces by avant-garde designer William Towns - and drive all of them
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As the Audrain organisation grows, we take a look behind the scenes at the huge car collection that feeds it
Flying the Scottish flag
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