First exhibited at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show, the first-ever Land Rover had been missing for 63 years before being found recently in a garden in of Solihull, UK, near where it was first built. Experts at Jaguar Land Rover Classic spent months researching the company’s archives to unravel its ownership history and confirm its provenance. Now, as part of the Land Rover Series I Reborn programme, which allows customers to own a slice of restored Land Rover history, the car will undergo a year-long mission to preserve the historically significant prototype and enable it to be driven again.
The launch vehicle has a number of special features unique to the ‘48 pre-production Land Rovers, such as thicker aluminium alloy body panels, a galvanised chassis and a removable rear tub. The patina of its components will be preserved, including the original Light Green paint applied in 1948.