1980 Range Rover 2-Door 3.5 V8

The Range Rover is to cars what the Rolex Submariner is to watches. They both started off life as a tool, solving a problem for its owner without fuss, and without spectacle. But, as time has drawn on, they both have inexplicably become cultural icons and indicators of personal success. Owning a Range Rover, like owning a Rolex, means you’ve made it.

However, like the Rolex, the Range Rover’s original essence, its purpose, has been diluted over the years. As the cars and watches shifted more towards a luxury market, their customer base changed. But to experience a true Range Rover, you must travel back in time.

This particular car is not the earliest of Range Rovers; it was built in February of 1980 and supplied new in Warwick Green. It’s a handsome car that features many of the very first car’s styling cues. Though, line with the times, silver bumpers and grilles were out, and in their place were some British Leyland black.

The car, though, still sits on a set of Rostyle steel wheels, wrapped in all-terrain Toyo tyres. They hint at the Range Rover's innate capability, but offer a good balance of off-road and on-road drivability. The interior is equally as sparse, whereas the last cars would be adorned with luxury materials like leather and wood, these cars still retain the early type, hard plastic dash.

The seats, however, have been retrimmed. They now wear a set of covers that feature tan leather and tweed centres, it’s a tasteful nod to the Range Rover’s later luxury life, whilst honouring its countryside origins. The thin-rimmed steering wheel remains, lovingly patinated over the course of its 45-year life.

What makes the Range Rover special are the mechanics; like so many British motoring icons, it was fitted with a Buick-derived engine, the Rover V8. It’s a 3.5-litre unit, which, whilst not producing enormous power figures, creates plenty of torque and an excellent soundtrack. This particular engine was rebuilt in 2021 by marque specialists Kingsley Cars at a cost of nearly £6,000. The engine is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox.

Unlike its Series Land Rover siblings, the Range Rover sits on coil springs, a revolutionary step at the time, which made on-road drivability immeasurably better, whilst barely compromising its off-road capabilities. Combined with a 100” wheel base, the chassis design was so good that it would become the foundation of the first Discovery, introduced 20 years after the Range Rover.

The car comes with some history, including the invoices associated with the all-important engine rebuild. It has covered just over 86,00 miles from new, and has had 13 owners. As this car is over 40 years old, it is exempt not only from Taxation and MOTs, but also from the Ultra Low Emission Zone. There is something beautifully ironic about a V8-powered bright green Range Rover, burbling its way through London’s congested streets.

As with all our vehicles, an entire digital folder is available upon request and contains more images, walk-around videos, and scans of the service history. The car can also be viewed by appointment at our West London showroom.