Star Cars
MARK EVANS TO PUT STAR CARS IN THE SPOTLIGHT AT LAND ROVER LEGENDS
Television presenter, self-confessed petrol head and serious Land Rover enthusiast Mark Evans will take to the stage at Land Rover Legends on 25 & 26 May to celebrate four Star Cars, each representing a very special milestone in the history of Land Rover.
The former Chief Veterinary Advisor to the RSPCA, BAFTA-winning presenter of ‘Inside Nature’s Giants’ and star of such popular programmes as ‘A 4x4 is born’, ‘A Car is Reborn’ and ‘Inside Jaguar’ will present two sessions per day in the main exhibition hangar at Bicester Heritage, focusing on two Star Cars each time and hosting a discussion with the people behind the cars’ history in a fascinating and personal element of Land Rover Legends.
In addition there will be daily parades around the Bicester Heritage Watch Office by groups of vehicles celebrating the four anniversaries.
12.00 Saturday 25 May and Sunday 26 May: Discovery One & SAS Pink Panther
The launch of the Discovery in 1989 was a master stroke by Land Rover to meet the challenge from new 4x4 vehicles such as the Isuzu Trooper and Mitsubishi Shogun. Land Rover Legends will celebrate the 30th anniversary of ‘the vehicle that saved Land Rover’ through Star Car G457 WAC, owned by Julian Lamb. It is one of only a handful of surviving vehicles from the press launch fleet and was used extensively at the press launch in Plymouth during the late autumn of 1989 and as a test car for a number of magazines.
12.00 Saturday 25 May and Sunday 26 May: Discovery One & SAS Pink Panther
The 50th anniversary of the entry into service with the SAS of the Series IIa ‘Pink Panther’ will be marked by what is believed to be the largest-ever gathering of these fascinating vehicles, including a Star Car from The Dunsfold Collection. In the late 1960s the MOD acquired 72 Series IIa 109 Land Rovers for special ops missions and long-distance reconnaissance. Marshalls of Cambridge converted them to SAS desert duty specification, with modifications including heavy-duty springs and chassis, additional fuel tanks to carry 100 gallons, smoke grenade launcher, rifles, machine guns, hand grenades and an anti-tank rocket launcher. They were delivered to the SAS in standard green livery but the SAS had many of them repainted in pink, the perfect colour for camouflage in the desert.
15.00 Saturday 25 May and Sunday 26 May: Range Rover P38A & Land Rover 100-inch
In September 1994 Land Rover launched the second-generation Range Rover, 24 years after the original was introduced. The new car was developed in building P38a of the Solihull factory, and so became known as the P38a. This was undeniably a luxury vehicle, with leather upholstery, premium trim and burr walnut rivalling the interiors of upmarket saloon cars, putting the four-wheel drive in front of a new audience. The Star Car appearing at Land Rover Legends is part of The Dunsfold Collection and is the oldest P38A in existence, a rare survivor from among the batch of pre-production vehicles.
15.00 Saturday 25 May and Sunday 26 May: Range Rover P38A & Land Rover 100-inch
In the late 1970s, Land Rover built around 36 100-inch wheelbase prototypes for evaluation by the French - and later the Swiss - military. Although these vehicles never went into production, the 100-inch wheelbase was felt by many to be the perfect dimension for a Land Rover and enthusiasts went on to create their own ‘hybrids’ based on modified Range Rover chassis and Land Rover panels. Land Rover Legends will celebrate the 40th anniversary of these exceptionally rare prototypes with what is expected to be the largest-ever gathering. Part of The Dunsfold Collection, the Star Car is powered by a prototype 2.25 petrol engine with five main bearings. The gearbox is a prototype 5-speed manual. The middle doors are custom-made and shaped to fit around the rear wheel arch.
