When Land Rover introduced its 'Range Rover' to the public in June 1970, it was the culmination of a thought process that extended back over two decades. Long experience with the Series I had taught the manufacturer much; the salient lesson being that there was a market for an off-road vehicle with the creature comforts of a car. By the late fifties, Land Rover envisaged a model that would work especially well in Africa and Australia - countries where long journeys on unmade roads were inevitable. Famously it trialed a 'Road Rover' concept which never made it to production.
Sixties America forced its hand. There the Sports Utility Vehicle phenomenon was well under way with cars like the Jeep Wagoneer. Land Rover acquired a Ford Bronco and the small-block Buick V8 it would eventually lend its own name to. Charles Spencer King was charged with creating a '100-inch Station Wagon". The original Range Rover was the result; a 'car for all seasons'. It had coil springs and permanent all-wheel drive and could seat five. More importantly, it looked the part. Like it was built to do a job.
There was good reason for that. King would later profess dismay at the thought of the Range Rover becoming a status symbol. The car's guiding principle had been fitness for purpose: it was styled most by the engineering department and built to go anywhere - but not parade around city centres. It is in that spirit we've approached this week's Six of the Best. Profligate SUVs need not apply. When we say off-roaders, we mean exactly that. Everything else is just fluff on top. Onward.
Clearly there was only one way to kick this off. In keeping with their name, the original two-door Range Rover (in good condition) is now a collectable. Hence the £50k price tag for a 1980 example in beige. Nevertheless, the appeal is almost irrefutable. The Defender rightly enjoyed fame for its unchanging, rawboned appearance, but the original Range Rover was no less functional; famously its squared-off body was mostly the same one the engineers had used to keep them dry while testing the all-new frame beneath. Save for some detailing, it just looked right.
But the Classic was about much more than just that. Its permanent four-wheel drive system was a sophisticated upgrade from the switchable transmission used in the Land Rover Series, and it retained a transfer box (with lever) for low ratio work. There was no auto option until 1982, meaning this car comes with the four-speed manual. Everything about the car is very manual. Including the Rover V8 upfront.
Even in the pristine condition presented, buyers can expect a persistent requirement for TLC, ear canal-worrying lean and vaguely adequate acceleration. Its standard kit here extends to the original Philips 'Turnlock' stereo and actual tool kit - including grease gun. But as you would with a period Lotus, Aston Martin, Jaguar or Rolls-Royce, you're acquiring much more than that. A car for all seasons, yes - and all-time, too.
NC
If the Range Rover was an eminently British way of doing things, then the Land Cruiser could be said to be typically Japanese. Toyota needed no convincing about the credibility of the Willys Jeep and Land Rover Series I and swiftly set about reverse engineering both of them to produce the original BJ25. The FJ that succeeded it didn't just catch up, it provided a new benchmark for the class. The Land Cruiser legend is built on its formidable foundation.
My preference for putting one at the top of the vintage off-road pile obviously relates to the FJ's tremendous off-road ability, but also its appearance. How could anyone not love its boxy form and cute face? Dare I say it, the FJ40's rawer design makes it a better looker than the Wrangler and cooler than a Defender - and I'm told the Toyota drives better than its rivals, too. I know which I'd rather have the keys to were I about to set off into the wilderness.
Despite all that kudos, FJs haven't reached Defender heights yet, so this lovely 1976 example can be had for just under £20k. For engineering kudos alone, that feels like a bargain. You get all that rarity and Japanese cool thrown in for free.
SS
If you want to off-road - like really off-road - then forget everything else on this list: you need an Evo. Like its Lancer equivalent, the Pajero isn't a 4x4 that will help you arrive in style. It's functional in the most brutal sense, its wider tracks punching angrily through staid bodywork most would just identify as a dreary old Shogun. Like the much more common. Lancer-based Evo, however, judging the Paj by its looks is like judging a beer by the barrel it came in - the real genius was unseen.
This Evo was built for Dakar success in the production category; it romped to those victories, and challenged purpose-built prototypes. Mitsubishi pulled out all the stops, back when it really cared about rallying, creating a whole new ARMIE independent rear axle, fitting a punchy 3.5 V6 and throwing lightweight panels at the Pajero like they were going out of fashion. It's a proper homologation special, a 4x4 icon if I might be so bold, available for £15k.
This Pajero is the only one on offer on PH (unsurprising given they weren't sold here), white like many a Lancer Evo in fact and ready to roll: the mileage is modest, it's totally standard, a service has just been done and the dealer can Waxoyl it as required. A manual would have been nice, but who cares? For off-road thrills, competition kudos and JDM curio charm, the Evo has won my heart like it did all those Dakars - memorably and emphatically.
MB
It was in 2015 on a run up the Goodwood hill that I noticed somebody had strapped knobbly tyres, a roll-over cage and a line of roof spots to an Ariel Atom. It took me straight back to racing radio control models and the car I drove as a kid on the trials for 80s TV show Superchamps.
With the big, soft Ohlins suspension, limited tarmac grip from the off-road tyres, and 235hp from a 2.4-litre engine stolen from the USA-based Honda Civic, this is a smile-a-minute machine. Throw in the something-that-can-go-anywhere brief and what could be better than a steed that can conquer not only a mountain but also be fun on the track?
The version I present here is maybe missing the big spots, spare wheel and stupidly knobbly rubber but will certainly still meet the need to enjoy any surface. If you are also worried about depreciation (as you should with the other contenders on this list) you needn't fear as this has gone up in value - man maths would explain this is away as an investment.
Matt may have chosen a Paris-Dakar winner, but could the actual vehicle he picked go and compete as sold? Not a chance - you need a Nomad. And let's face it, who has not wanted to be miniaturised so as to be able to drive their Tamiya Grasshopper? Or get to be a small kid off-roading a buggy on Superchamps - this is your chance!
PD
Well, this is a dilemma. Because, quite clearly, the rest have this wrong: while the plan may be to draw attention to the Range Rover's achievements, we all know the off-road GOAT is far older than a spritely 50. But which version of Land Rover's original idea is best?
Because over seven decades the Series and Defender, Britain's premier off-roader has come in all sorts of formats and with all sorts of flourishes. As I like to think of myself as fairly outdoorsy (sometimes I leave the mud on my boots to prove it) initially something like this appealed - a Defender to live in! The perfect thing, it seemed, with which to escape Daddy Daycare duties in; or, indeed, the ideal vehicle to base Daddy Daycare from...
However, there's no way I could claim any semblance of 4x4 superiority against a V6 Pajero, a V8 Range and an Ariel Nomad with a £50k diesel Defender. Oh no. So this one is my pick instead, for sale at a Land Rover specialist and with some useful upgrades already fitted: chunky all-terrain tyres, a light bar and expedition roof rack. Better than all of that, though, is the dealer's expertise in V8 engine swaps and camper conversions - it's a no-brainer. With more than £20k left in the kitty (if we're going off Pete's big spending), I could surely make something approaching the best 4x4 by far within the confines of this budget. Certainly, it'd be one I'd rather take exploring than a creaky old Range...
BL
You know how you search for this stuff in the classifieds? Type in "Goodrich" and away you go. Among the American muscle cars (next week, maybe) there are plenty of nice options. Including the Jeep Wrangler in question. Reasons for choosing it? Huge tyres, bull bars, lift kit, light bar, winch and all the Black Mountain goodies you can eat.
I was going to harp on about another LeMans Trip where Nene Overland lent us a very nice example in the same colour with the same, dazzling, light bar (very handy for the campsite). In truth though I spent that drive as custodian of Nene's far more refined and much more powerful SRT Grand Cherokee. I swapped into the Wrangler only very briefly, and was eager to swap back immediately; unsurprisingly it did not feel fantastic above 50 being vague, wallowy and wind-noisy. But it certainly got a fair chunk of attention, even among the other exotica headed south.
My big life regret was not being able to drive it in its natural habitat. Green laning around Hampshire would be unlikely to challenge a machine of the Wrangler's calibre, but the fact that it makes you think of ploughing through the nearest hedgerow says much about the car. This example would be the perfect remedy; I could go full pelt across a freshly mowed field and likely not feel a thing. And the 50-inch light bar is a whole new take on DRLs; 24/7 (blinding) daylight. Let's off-road!
SL
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