Land Rover records show that chassis # 358 00115A was built on or about 1st April 1971, being the first year of Range Rover production and the 115th Export vehicle built, so a very early car indeed. It was dispatched on 6th April to Rover agents Baden of Lausanne, Switzerland and subsequently sold to its first owner, Mr Tatsis of Lausanne, shortly afterwards.

In July 1972 it returned to the UK and was registered on UK plates. There have been only a further 5 keepers with the last acquiring 'WWT 297J' in February 2012.

This last gentleman owner, is without doubt amongst the most knowledgeable of private Land Rover collectors, and has assembled a very impressive array of Land Rovers and other classic and sporting cars too. To this end, all of his 'kit' is spot on, with an accuracy in terms of original specification being pivotal to his motivation and collection.

Grasping the opportunity to purchase a very early LHD example with matching numbers (chassis, engine, gearbox and axles) and a genuine 93,000 miles; although having been well cared for over the intervening 41 years, and remaining very much original and unmolested, preservation was now very much in order, thus a total ground-up restoration was duly commissioned.

This was entrusted to Philip Bashall of Dunsfold Landrovers and the renowned classic car restorer, Andrew Mitchell. Needless to say, the end product which has taken the best part of 2 years, clearly shows the exceptional standard of workmanship and is completely accurate and faithful to the original.

The following will give you a brief glimpse of the work that was undertaken

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•Strip chassis, chassis renovated and powder coated
•Original axles retained and powder coated
•All bushes and suspension components replaced
•Original engine and gearbox stripped and rebuilt
•Body dismantled to shell, repaired and bare metal re-spray
•Interior re-trimmed with new seat covers
•Suffix A trim renovated and re-fitted
•Original components renovated and re-used wherever possible.

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New old stock Land Rover parts alone accounted for nearly £19,000 of spend, plus another £21,000 of body preparation and work via Mitchell Motors...let us not forget the hours of labour too. Pleasingly there is a photographic record of the initial dismantling, repairs to the bodywork, repainting and subsequent reassembly, plus receipts and invoicing tracking the 2 years of work.

A bespoke folder containing the original factory build and specification sheets, a profile of each owner, reams of invoices, Mots, plus 2 original articles from 2002/3 Land Rover Owner International Magazine featuring this actual car all accompany this fabulous Range Rover. Further details such as the early adopted sharp edged lettering on the bonnet and rear hatch, extendable fuel neck and complete & original tool set, further emphasize its importance and rarity.

As you would expect, I have been behind the wheel a number of times and she drives better than when new, and feels that it could tackle any journey, especially over harsh terrain, aswell as a modern contemporary.

It would be pleasure to answer any further questions you might have. The Range Rover can be inspected at my Guildford showroom - please call 07788 865700.