Land Rover Monthly May 2019

FACING HATRED in its purest form makes you question whether being where you are is really worth the effort? That is exactly how I felt when doing the Lake District greenlaning feature on page 50. There were several incidents of pure nastiness aimed at us during the two days of off-roading. On one occasion an elderly gentleman shouted at me: “Call that an adventure? Why don’t you join the army and go on a real adventure”. I smiled and quietly replied: “Been there, done that”. He, too, had a reply: “I did 25 years in the Marines”. I wanted to tell him that the last guy who told me that turned out to be a Walter Mitty, but there was no need for that. While my laning article is all…

LAND ROVER Special Vehicle Operations has revealed the latest version of its armoured Range Rover Sentinel, which now features more power, all-terrain capability and the latest in occupant protection. The 380 hp 5.0-litre supercharged V8 petrol engine provides an extra 40 horses over the V6 petrol fitted previously, which is a good job as it carries more than one tonne of armour plate and glass. Still a zero to 60 mph time isn’t shabby, taking 9.8 seconds before reaching a top speed of 120 mph. The chassis, suspension, braking and electronic stability systems have all been optimised as well to ensure Range Rover’s renowned all-terrain capability, while specially-manufactured wheels incorporate a run-flat system so the vehicle can be driven over distances of up to 30 miles at speeds of 50…

I KNOW what you’re thinking… yet another US specialist building custom Defenders. And yes, you would be right, except ECD Auto Design are a little different. Its founders grew up in the Midlands, just 40 miles from the Lode Lane factory and they were surrounded by Land Rovers from an early age, mostly driving around on friends’ farms and sometimes riding along with bales of hay, the family dog or other animals. Their latest showcase based on a 110, is called Project Camper. Painted in Rosello Red, under the bonnet is a 6.2-litre LS3 V8 mated to a six-speed automatic – a far cry from the Defenders that they shared with the occasional pig or sheep, that’s for sure. A Kahn wide body kit with 18” Defend 1983 wheels wrapped…

DAVE PHILLIPS, ex-LRM editor was right (not that we doubted him), the anti-diesel measures that have come into force recently, including an increase in first-year road tax and company car tax, was unfounded demonisation. Well, certainly in the case of Jaguar Land Rover anyway, whose diesels are among the best in Europe, according to independent on-road emissions testing, as part of the new AIR Index. AIR tested four vehicles from JLR’s range, with all of them achieving an ‘A’ – the best possible rating. The new AIR Index uses a standardised, independent on-road testing procedure to measure the real NOx emissions for each vehicle tested and JLR’s new diesel engines boast NOx and particulate emissions comparable with petrol, but with 15 per cent lower CO2 and 25 per cent better…

THE INTERNATIONAL Land Rover community has lost one of its pioneering restorers and preservationists. Sadly, Huub Houben passed away on March 3 at his home town of Kerkrade, in the Netherlands. He was 79. Huub had been a passionate Land Rover enthusiast since childhood when, in 1952, his uncles purchased an 80-inch as a working vehicle for their farm. Huub was soon driving it around the farm in low-box and his lifelong love affair with the marque had begun, although he had to wait until 1976 before he was able to buy his first Land Rover, an 80-inch just like the one his uncles had owned. Another 80 was acquired in 1983, and this time Huub’s focus was on restoring the vehicle to factory specification. By then, his three sons…

Riveting read I THINK it should be brought to your attention that a new novel has been published. Called Buster, written by Mary Hatfield, she is an avid reader of LRM and has written about Defenders in her novel. Her book is set in Scotland and is narrated through the eyes of a young wildfowler who travels up through the Highlands goose shooting on the foreshore with his parents and their dogs. It really is a good advert for Land Rover with pictures of a Defender 110 as well as in-depth descriptions of the vehicle. I think that she deserves a mention in LRM. Anyone who’s ever owned a Defender will be able to identify with her book. It truly is one of a kind. P.S. I ordered my copy…