LAND ROVER

Land Rover, an iconic British automotive brand, traces its roots to 1947 when Maurice Wilks, the chief designer at Rover, sketched the original concept on the sands of Red Wharf Bay. Inspired by wartime Jeep utility vehicles, the first Land Rover, the Series I, debuted in 1948 at the Amsterdam Motor Show. Renowned for its rugged design and off-road prowess, Land Rover quickly became a symbol of adventure. Over the years, it evolved into a diverse lineup, including the Defender, Discovery, and Range Rover series. In 2018, the production of the classic Defender ended, marking the end of an era.

For us, it all started in the early 2000’s. When we bought our first Land Rover, a Limestone 1963 Land Rover Series 2a 88” Station Wagon. We unfortunately had to sell it in 2014 and did a full year without any Land Rover’s. But when we came back from our 2015 trip through Namibia and Botswana with a Defender 110, we started looking again. Not much later we had a new family member. Panda. An Ex-Carabinieri 1996 Land Rover Defender 90 2.0mpi. With this vehicle came our introduction to the online community through our Instagram account @pandathelandy. It didn’t take long before our hobby took us everywhere.

In 2017 we started our first full restoration, Shepherd, our 1953 Land Rover Series 1 80”, a year later a 1979 Land Rover Series 3 88” joined and left two years later to make place for Koala, the Smet Works shop truck! A 1986 Land Rover One Ten that we converted to a 4.6l V8. And our most recent addition is a 1994 Range Rover Classic Ambulance from Switzerland, that we’ve converted to an Overlander. We’re always looking for the next opportunity, so who knows what the next project might be!