Wednesday, 7 November 2012
129" Land-Rovers - what could have been...
An abortive attempt at a bigger Land-Rover from the early 1960s, which had spin-offs in the form of 2.5 litre and also turbocharged versions of the 2286 diesel engine.
Only two survive, one at Dunsfold, the other at Gaydon.
Vehicle number 1 was essentially just a bigger Land-Rover, intended to compete with the Dodge Power Wagon in middle-East oilfield markets. It was thought to have been built with a 3 litre petrol engine but at some point had a turbo version of the 2286 diesel.
Prototype 2 onwards was a more resolved vehicle, with springs over the axles, and able to take up to 16.00x16 tyres!
Many of these used the 3-litre six-cylinder car engine, which was found to not be suitable for use in such a heavy vehicle.
The final prototype had a slightly different wing design and used a 2.5 litre engine with input from CAV for the fuel distribution pump. This vehicle still survives at Dunsfold.
This is the other survivor at Gaydon.
These were often called "1-Ton" Land-Rovers by the engineers, but were actually closer to 1 1/2 Ton vehicles.
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