It’s easy to see why early Range Rovers have, for a little while now, made ideal candidates for a bit of modernisation. There’ll never be a time when that original design doesn’t look fantastic, but there’s also always been plenty of scope to improve the driving experience. And the interior ambience. And the durability. Helps too, of course, that loads were sold, lots of people love them, and plenty of folk know about them. The P38 replacement just doesn’t have quite the same following, even with the 90s kind of cool again. Whether as an untouched classic or optimised restomod, there remains little beating an original Range.
This looks a very special one indeed. It was notable as standard, being a very late (1994) soft-dash LSE, so a lavish, long-wheelbase spec. It’s a right-hand drive, UK car as well; it’s hard to imagine many were sold with the Classic on the verge of replacement by that time. Nevertheless, despite the potential collectability, it was put into service, the Range racking up 100,000 miles by the time of the first digital MOTs; from then on, as with so many, the list of issues grew, until it was taken off the road in 2013.
Which is where the story gets especially interesting, because at some point between then and 2023 the LSE was totally overhauled by Twenty Ten Engineering. Established 15 years ago (clue’s in the name and all that), Twenty Ten has established quite the rep for itself in Land Rover restoration circles. This very car can still be seen on old social media posts, and it really did go through a total, wonderful restoration.
The Rover V8 is now 4.8 litres in capacity, as well as 285hp and 330lb ft strong, thanks to JE Developments; there’s a rebuilt ZF automatic gearbox, Koni dampers, big Fossway brakes (330mm front discs, 315mm rears), a custom exhaust and beefed up four-wheel drive bits, including a heavy-duty Borg Warner transfer box.
So you know it’ll rumble along with real aplomb, but it’s the looks of this Range Rover that must really sell it. Presumably it was in a fairly sorry state once upon a time, though now the Ardennes Green paint and overall bodywork look utterly flawless. The interior has been treated to total reupholstering in Poltrana Frau leather, which must have cost a ruddy fortune and looks fabulous on Recaro seats. There’s Alcantara headlining, a modern sound system and rear chairs fit for any road trip that's in mind. It’s as nice a Classic as we’ve seen in a very long time.
Which means it’ll cost, of course. While you’ll have to ask for a specific price on this one, it’s clear that a lot of hours (as well as a lot of love) has gone into this. Add into that the appreciation of all Range Rover Classics since 2013 or so and it’s easy to imagine this costing somewhere in the region of what a new one might be. But which one would you want to use and be seen in as much as possible? Exactly.
1 / 7
