Land Rover Legends
A new event at Bicester Heritage pays tribute to Land Rover and proves very successful indeed
THIS BRAND-NEW event was held for the first time this year, and what a show it turned out to be! The setting at Bicester Heritage is superb and the old RAF base was soon filling up with a vast range of Land Rovers, from the oldest to the most recent models, while a vintage Tiger Moth biplane in RAF colours provided a suitable reminder of the location’s history, and was taking off and landing for much of the weekend.
One of the great attractions of the site is, of course, the massive aircraft hangars and it was one of these that was the indoor hub of the Legends show. Billed as a different kind of Land Rover event that would focus not just on the vehicles, but on the people behind the vehicles and their stories, Legends more than lived up to expectations.
Centre-stage were four ‘star cars’ and on both show days a number of people associated with the vehicles were interviewed on stage by TV presenter and Land Rover petrolhead Mark Evans. Show visitors were treated to Adam Bennet telling the incredible story of how he found and recovered the First Overland Oxford Series I from the island of St Helena in the South Atlantic, while Tim Slessor was on hand to add his reminiscences of the expedition from London to Singapore in 1955.
Moreover, Tim Dines recounted the story of his chance discovery of Series I pre-production car L03 on a farm in the West Country 44 years ago, and how his dedicated research uncovered the fact that it was at the Amsterdam Motor Show in 1948 when the Land Rover was launched to the world.
Bob and Joe Ives were also there with the 110 they drove to victory in the 1989 Camel Trophy, generally regarded to have been the toughest of all the Camel events, while members of the Land Rover team that gave up their time voluntarily to set 27 diesel records with the ‘Beaver Bullet’ Range Rover Turbo D at MIRA in 1986, were in attendance to talk about that amazing event, and the impact it had on
the subsequent success of the new diesel Range Rover.
All the major national Land Rover clubs had displays both inside and outside the hangar and the Dunsfold Collection brought along a dozen of their very special cars. A breathtaking line-up of Series I and Series II vehicles paraded inside the hangar each day, with commentary and discussion with the owners, all of whom seemed to be having a wonderful time as they helped celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Land Rover and the 60th birthday of the Series II.
One of the central themes of the Legends show was the National Awards. Owners were invited to nominate their vehicles in three categories: Most Original Land Rover, Best Restoration and Best Bespoke vehicle. A very varied range of vehicles were presented across all three groups, and a panel of six judges had the unenviable task of deciding on a winner and a highly-commended in each class.
The winner in the Most Original class was a stunning 1991 Discovery 1 that has been cherished by owner Monique Bass for many years, and the award to Monique included a high-quality watch presented by show sponsors Farer. Second place went to Greg King’s mint Defender 50th Anniversary. The winner of the Best Restoration class went to Ray Adams for his magnificent 1976 Forward Control, while runner-up was the Poppy Red Series II owned by Nick Rogers. The Best Bespoke category included some remarkable vehicles such as the Discovery 1 known as ‘Big Bad Cat’, which had been carefully prepared as a fast rally and extreme off-road vehicle, but the judges chose Richard Hughes’ 1954 Series I in the end with coachbuilt bodywork by Gripkarroserier of Sweden as the winner, followed by David Bowyer’s highly-personalised Defender 90.
Event partners Footman James had invited Land Rover owners before the event to submit their stories. The winner, chosen by a public vote, was ‘Dido’, a Series I that has been a family fixture for over 40 years. Although not an immaculate example, the memories this machine has created make it truly special to the owner, from camping trips as a child to teaching his own children to drive in it. This trusty Series I captures the essence of Land Rover ownership and won the hearts of the public voters.
The Series II Club went to the trouble of creating both an indoor stand and an outdoor display. Inside the hangar were chassis numbers 2 and 3 in beautifully-restored and original condition respectively, while outside the Club had gathered together a remarkable selection of vehicles dating from 1958, the year the Series II was launched. Their efforts were rewarded when Mark Evans presented them with the Best Club Display award.
The Dunsfold Collection also presented the Brian Bashall Memorial Award, named after the late founder of the Collection and presented to individuals, groups, companies, clubs or other entities that have made significant contributions to the
preservation of Land Rover history and heritage. It was presented by Philip Bashall to Adam Bennett for returning Oxford to the UK and for the subsequent sympathetic restoration that has brought this hugely-important vehicle back into the public eye for the first time in over 60 years.
Among the many exhibitors were classic Range Rover specialist Bishop’s 4x4 with an excellent display encompassing a replica of the James Bond ‘Octopussy’ convertible and a wonderfully-original late-1970s two-door in gleaming Masai Red, as well as Bowler Motorsport, Britpart, and many others.
JLR themselves were also at Legends with the Land Rover Experience team and an impressive display of vehicles from Classic Works including examples of Series I and Range Rover factory Reborn vehicles as well as unrestored vehicles awaiting the Reborn treatment, and an example of the impressive Defender Works V8. And outside, of course, were hundreds of wonderful vehicles on the club stands and in the dedicated Land Rover parking area.
LRM was delighted to be the media partner for the event and the two Series Is on our stand certainly attracted a great deal of interest.
Everyone we spoke to thought the new Legends event is an incredibly important addition to the Land Rover show calendar, and the good news is organisers have confirmed that Legends will become an annual event. Dates for the 2019 event are coming soon – to receive updates go to landroverlegends.com