Land Rover Owner

‘Do you ever really have to grow up?’ I was at the seaside the other day, having fun sliding down the wavy slide overlooking the beach. After my final descent, as I replaced my mat, a young couple who had been watching their son on the same slide said to me: ‘You’re never too old to have fun.’ I looked in the mirror later and realised I do look old now – but I don’t feel it, and I’m still doing the same things that I was doing in my teens. I’d been working on one of the Land Rovers before heading to the beach, and the following day I was greenlaning – as I did in the 1980s. A Land Rover is a passport to fun at any age. Take this issue,…

THEO FORD-SAGERS NEWS EDITOR • Lucky Theo managed to get away to Greece to explore the Pindos mountains (p56). Despite knowing there were bears around, it was still a thrill for him to see one! SAM WATSON OVERLANDER • It may not look like a Land Rover now, but that’s exactly what the rock-crawler that Sam drove in the UAE started life as (p86). What’s your take on it? Is it still a Land Rover? VICKY TURNER CONTRIBUTOR • A Series Land Rover is a great vehicle to own, and it’s even better when you’ve rebuilt it yourself, as Ben Walker did (p64). Vicky brings us the full story. MARK SAVILLE ASSISTANT EDITOR • What do you do with a worn-out workhorse? Give it a makeover and transform it into a cracking overlander – as Mark finds…

‘I’m off to the Arctic Circle!’ THE OWNER DAVE KING Dave is a director of Sphere Electrical Ltd, which builds grid-scale renewable power plants – big solar panel parks – and battery storage plants, including Europe’s largest in Essex. ‘We’ve been doing that since 2013.’ Since having his Defender refurbished, Dave is now a confirmed fan of off-road travel and is planning to undertake trips to Portugal and the Arctic Circle. For generations, Land Rovers have provided the backbone and muscle on constructions sites all around the world. Until very recently, this refurbished and expedition-prepared Defender was one such machine. This 110 and its identical sibling were often seen hauling 3.5-tonne cable drums through axle-deep mud on vast solar park installations all over the UK. They grafted hard for more than five years, covering…

1st RICHARD WHITMAN still loves driving his 50th Anniversary Defender 90 even after 17 years of ownership. No wonder, when it looks this good posing by the wild Atlantic on the north-west coast of the isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. ‘Richard’s photo really sells the idea as your Land Rover being your passport to out-of-the-way places – next landfall from this spot is Iceland!’ NEIL WATTERSON, EDITOR 2nd GARY TOMKINS’ unrestored, low-mileage, 1982 Series III waits patiently for 6412, a Great Western Railway pannier tank loco built in 1934, to pass over the level crossing. Gary was exploring greenlanes in the hinterland of the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway heritage line in Oxfordshire. ‘Sometimes, the best photos happen by chance – and Gary was definitely in the right place at the right time here.’ NEIL…

Freelander 1s have been found to be ideal ambulances on the front line in Ukraine. Since early March, Land Rover owners have been involved in the steady flow of humanitarian support entering the country. One such mission is headed by Land Rover devotee Richard Myers and his wife Gosia, whose Freelander, originally their son’s first car, is now an ambulance serving in eastern Ukraine. Richard and his wife contacted the Ukrainian embassy in the UK to ask what was needed most, and were told that emergency vehicles were in short supply. They then set about equipping the Freelander, using funds raised via JustGiving. ‘Word got out quite quickly around the local area, ’ says Richard. ‘The embassy sent us a list of equipment needed, and a local company donated a modular stretcher…

Meet the new boss Jaguar Land Rover has a new engineering chief, Thomas Müller, who replaces Nick Rogers. Müller joins the company from Audi, where he focused on chassis engineering and autonomous driving tech; he now has oversight of hardware and software development for all Jaguar Land Rover vehicles. A classy camper Design firm Quarterre has created sketches of the new Defender showing potential camper conversions. The concepts include gullwing rear windows, a pop-up roof and a rear sliding extension. The drawings are independent of Land Rover and there are no plans to manufacture them – but they wish to hear from like-minded parties. More: quarterre.com. Africa opens up Ferries between Spain and Morocco have resumed after months of border closures. As we go to press, OneLife Adventure is retrieving clients’ vehicles…