This grandfather of the modern Defender made its debut at the Amsterdam Auto Show 70 years ago. Now this classic Series I will get the love it deserves.
Jaguar Land Rover’s Classic team – a group of restoration specialists that breathes life back into the decrepit guts of ancestral off-roaders – has a doozy on its hands.
That’s because they found, in Land Rover’s words, “the world’s most historically significant unrestored Land Rover.” It’s an original Series I, one of three pre-production Land Rovers originally built by hand to meet the public at the 1948 Amsterdam Auto Show.
To celebrate the brand’s 70th anniversary this year, Land Rover will embark on a “year-long mission to preserve this historically significant prototype and enable it to be driven again.”
70-Year Life of Land Rover 1948 Series I
The Series I was Land Rover’s first production vehicle, following closely on the heels of the famous pre-production “Huey.” According the brand, this Series I relic hasn’t seen the road since the ’60s and has spent most of its life “languishing unfinished in a garden.” The U.K. manufacturer said it poured over company archives to verify the vehicle’s authenticity. In all, Land Rover said this truck has been missing for the last 63 years.
- 1948: Built with LHD and listed as “experimental” on the logbook and record of sale
- 1948: Upgraded with new production parts by Engine Department, converted to current RHD setup
- 1955: First registered on June 25, 1955, with registration SNX 910
- 1961: Sold to a new owner in Handsworth
- 1965: Moved to Sutton Coldfield
- 1967: Moved to Stratford-Upon-Avon
- 1968: Moved to Alvechurch, Worcestershire
- 1968: Used in Wales as a static power source
- 1988: Engine seized – the Land Rover was sold to a new owner in Birmingham, U.K.
- 2016: Spotted in a garden, destined for a restoration that never began