{"id":37629,"date":"2014-09-04T14:03:12","date_gmt":"2014-09-04T13:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.influx.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=37629"},"modified":"2022-06-15T11:27:50","modified_gmt":"2022-06-15T10:27:50","slug":"land-rover-prototype","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/blog\/land-rover-prototype\/","title":{"rendered":"Land Rover prototype"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ok, look closely. This 1951 Land Rover prototype looks a little different.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you noticed, then you have a keen eye, and probably the sort of sensibility that appreciates the utilitarian loveliness of the totemic Land Rover.<\/p>\n

The difference is, in this early test-bed in the wheelbase. The earliest versions of the Land Rover were inspired the WW2 American import the Willys Jeep, which had a wheelbase of 80 inches. This version, however, was part of a small cohort of Landie prototypes that came with a bigger 2.8 Litre Rolls Royce unit than the one that came as standard. The stretch was needed to accommodate the Roller lump, pictured below.<\/p>\n

\"land_rover_81_prototype_5\"<\/a><\/figure>\n

Other visible mods included a slightly raised bonnet, but there were a whole rake of cooling and transmission tweaks that needed doing, too. The car shown here raised in the regions of \u00a350K through Bonhams recently – and who could blame an enthusiast for shelling out that sort of money for such a rare, historic and beautifully practical machine?<\/p>\n

We’re in love<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\t\t