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For Sale: An Ex-London Police Undercover Surveillance Range Rover

This Range Rover Classic from 1983 has had a more interesting life than most, it was bought new by the Metropolitan Police in London and used by the C11 Criminal Investigation Department (CID) as an undercover surveillance vehicle.

The rear side windows were covered up, and the rear of the vehicle was used to accommodate a small radio surveillance operation, including a Storno radio base station, two early mobile phones, and a direction finding system.

Fast Facts – The Undercover Surveillance Range Rover

The first Range Rovers were developed by the British automaker Rover to offer a more “civilized” and comfortable 4×4, for people who wanted saloon car luxury but still needed off-road capability.
Development began in the mid-1960s, a minimalist body was designed for chassis and drivetrain testing, and a steel ladder frame chassis was designed that was fitted with coil spring suspension, live axles front and rear, and four-wheel disc brakes.
The minimalist body that had been developed by the engineering team was deemed so good that stylist David Bache only made minor changes to it before it went into production.
The 1983 Ranger Rover Classic you see here was bought new by the London Metropolitan Police and used by their C11 radio surveillance team. It’s now being offered for sale in Britain with an asking price of £21,995 or approximately $26,400 USD.

The Range Rover Classic

The original two-door Range Rover Classic has gone through something of a renaissance in recent years, they went from being relatively cheap and largely undesirable to being among the most collectible and expensive vintage four-wheel drives in the world.

The interior of the Range Rover Classic was vastly more opulent than any other production 4×4 for sale in Britain at the time, it quickly became a favorite vehicle of the wealthy.

The original Range Rovers are now known as the Range Rover Classic, a name retroactively applied when they were briefly sold in parallel with then-new Range Rover P38A in 1995.

These first Range Rovers are largely responsible for the modern day luxury SUV craze, alongside the Jeep Wagoneer, these vehicles offered luxury saloon car comfort with off-road ability – a combination that’s still proving popular today many decades later.

The earliest versions of the Range Rover had two-doors with comfortable seating for five adults and space for cargo in the back. The interiors were fully carpeted and upholstered, the seats were plush, and road noise deadening was vastly superior to the more minimalistic Land Rovers of the era.

In order to ensure that the Range Rover platform was as future-proof as possible it was developed with coil springs front and back, four-wheel disc brakes, a full-time four-wheel drive system, and it was all powered by the all-aluminum Rover V8.

The Luxury SUV Is Created

When it was released in 1969 the Range Rover became an overnight success, it proved particularly popular with the British aristocracy and those of significant financial means.

The off-road ability of the first Range Rover was excellent, it had a high-torque Rover V8 engine, full-time four-wheel drive, high and low range, front and rear live axles, and coil spring suspension that offered good wheel articulation.

This formerly untapped market has now grown to the point that almost every luxury automaker in the world has SUVs in their model ranges including Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Maserati, all soon to be joined by Ferrari and Lotus.

Although it was designed to be comfortable, great care was taken to ensure that the Range Rover would be a good performer off-road. With its live axles, high and low range, excellent ground clearance, high-torque V8 engine, and long travel coil spring suspension the Range Rover was better off-road than many Land Rovers of the period.

Perhaps the ultimate test of off-road ability is the Paris-Dakar Rally – modified examples of the Range Rover won the 4×4 class of the first Dakar in 1979, then did it again two years later in 1981.

Original Range Rovers are now highly collectible, two-door models tend to fetch significantly more than the more common four-door models, and some restored examples have sold for low six figure sums.

The Ex-London Police Range Rover Shown Here

The Range Rover you see here is immediately noticeable for the covered rear windows, not something we’re used to seeing on the famously open greenhouse of the RRC.

The covered rear windows used to hide a radio surveillance operator, it’s likely that very few would have suspected a Range Rover would be used for clandestine police activity.

As mentioned up top, the reason for the covered windows is that the back end of this vehicle used to house a radio surveillance operator, the rear window presumably had a curtain of some sort as well as the front partition.

Given the off-road ability of the Range Rover, this surveillance vehicle would have been able to operate essentially anywhere, and it was apparently equipped with a full set of Ordnance Survey maps, so that in the days before GPS and Google Maps it could be used anywhere on the UK mainland.

This RRC was originally equipped with a Storno radio base station, it also had a bench and a chair for the operator, two early mobile phones, and a direction finding system. Up on top it had a Clark mast and a roof rack lined with plywood to give access to the mast when needed.

It was sold out of police ownership into private hands in 1998 with just 36,000 miles on the odometer. It’s now for sale courtesy of Williams Classics in Conwy, North Wales with ash asking price of £21,995 or approximately $26,400 USD.

If you’d like to read more about this unusual Range Rover Classic or enquire about buying it you can visit the listing here.

Images courtesy of Williams Classics.

The post For Sale: An Ex-London Police Undercover Surveillance Range Rover appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/police-undercover-surveillance-range-rover/
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There’s An Original Shelby GT500 “King Of The Road” For Sale

This is a 1968 Shelby GT500, it was the largest-displacement production Mustang to carry the Shelby name thanks to its 428 cubic inch (7.0 liter) Cobra Jet V8, an engine capable of 335+ bhp.

The GT500 is well-known today thanks to “Eleanor” from the Nicholas Cage film “Gone in 60 Seconds.” Eleanor was a fastback Mustang modified to look like a GT500, it single-handedly made the Shelby GT500 famous all over again in the year 2000 when the movie was released.

Fast Facts – The Shelby GT500

Carroll Shelby was approached by Lee Iacocca, the Ford Division General Manager, in 1964 to produce a high-performance version of the then-new Mustang to elevate the car’s standing in the sports car community.
Shelby developed the GT350, a Mustang with a slew of engine, suspension, braking, and weight reduction modifications. It was offered as a road-legal street car for homologation purposes and it was raced in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) B Production Class.
The Shelby GT350 dominated the 1965 season, beating cars like the Chevrolet Corvette, Jaguar E-Type, Sunbeam Tiger, and various Ferraris to claim the title. This established the performance reputation of the Shelby Mustang.
In 1967 the new Shelby GT500 was introduced, it was powered by the larger 428 cubic inch V8 offering upwards of 335+ bhp. Decades later Ford would bring the model back, basing it on the modern production Mustang.

Carroll Shelby and the Mustang

As the story goes, Carroll Shelby wasn’t all that keen on the idea of building a performance version of the new Ford Mustang when he was approached about it by Ford Division General Manager Lee Iacocca in 1964.

If you look carefully you’ll see the aluminum valve covers with raised lettering that reads “Cobra Le Mans,” that identifies this as a Cobra Jet V8 which means this is a “King of the Road” GT500 KR.

At this time Shelby was busy building the Shelby Cobra, a car he developed by combining a Ford 289 cubic inch V8 with a lightweight AC Ace sports car from England.

Ultimately Shelby would agree to Iacocca’s proposal, both because he needed to keep Ford onside so they would continue supplying him with engines, and because these new “Shelby Mustangs” would add some much needed capital to the Shelby American balance sheets.

The first Mustang to carry the Shelby name was the GT350. Shelby and his team developed a high-performance version of the fastback 289 V8 Mustang, they sold it to consumers to homologate it and took it racing in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) B Production Class where it won the championship in its first year.

In 1967 Ford released an all-new Mustang with an updated body design and a larger engine bay that had been developed specifically to accommodate the 7.0 liter 428 Ford V8.

Shelby American developed their own version and called it the GT500, it was labelled the “King of the Road” in period, with the model name often written as GT500 KR to emphasize it.

The distinctive look of the Shelby GT500 was modified and used as the car named Eleanor from the movie “Gone in 60 Seconds.”

The first generation of Shelby Mustangs ceased production after 1970 due to the popularity of muscle cars waning, and the federal government taking a renewed interest in vehicle safety and emissions.

This wouldn’t be the end of the line for the Shelby Mustang however, they were brought back into production in 2011 based on the modern Mustang platform and various versions remain in production today.

The Shelby GT500 “King Of The Road”

The Shelby GT500 first appeared for the 1967 model year, Ford had developed an updated Mustang with an all new and slightly larger bodyshell than now had space under the hood for one of their larger 428 cubic inch V8.

The GT500 received lightweight fiberglass parts including the front-end, the hood, the rear tail light panel and deck lid, the quarter panel extension, and side scoops in front of the rear wheels.

This GT500 has a red exterior with white stripes, a tan interior, and the optional C6 automatic transmission.

The car were originally equipped with the Ford FE 428 cubic inch Police Interceptor V8 fitted with a mid-rise cast aluminum intake and two 4 barrel 600 CFM Holley carburetors.

The engine produced a claimed 355 bhp at 5,400 rpm with 420 lb ft of torque at 3,200 rpm. In 1968 the cars began receiving the “Cobra Jet” V8. These can be identified by their cast alloy valve covers with raised lettering that reads “Cobra Le Mans” as a reference to the FE-engined Ford GT40 that was dominating the 24 Hour of Le Mans at the time.

These later cars fitted with the Cobra Jet V8 would be given the slightly modified model name Shelby GT500 KR, for “King of the Road.”

The 1968 Shelby GT500 Shown Here

The car you see here is a 1968 Shelby GT500 KR, it’s fitted with the desirable 428 Cobra Jet V8 producing 335 hp and 440 lb ft of torque, and power is sent to the rear wheels through the optional C6 automatic transmission.

This car was factory-fitted with air conditioning, making it ideal for use as a daily driver so long as the owner doesn’t mind the fuel bills.

This GT500 is listed in the Shelby Registry, it has air conditioning, a tilt steering column, Shelby 10-spoke wheels, and a 3.20 axle ratio.

It was restored in 2001 and it still appears to be in excellent condition throughout.

It’s finished in red with white Shelby stripes and it has a tan interior. This car is due to roll across the auction block with Mecum in late July.

If you’d like to read more about this Shelby GT500 or register to bid you can visit the listing here.

Images courtesy of Mecum

The post There’s An Original Shelby GT500 “King Of The Road” For Sale appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/shelby-gt500-king-of-the-road/
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Mike Jordan’s TVR Tuscan Challenge Race Car Is For Sale

This TVR Tuscan was built by the TVR factory race team for the 1999 season of the TVR Tuscan Challenge, a one-make British racing series dedicated to the second generation Tuscan – the car you see pictured above and below.

After it had been built by the TVR factory race team it was delivered to Mike Jordan’s Eurotech Racing team who then added a slew of improvements. The car would go on to win multiple races, culminating in a second place finish in the championship in 2000.

Fast Facts – A TVR Tuscan Challenge Race Car

The TVR Tuscan Challenge launched in 1989 as a one-make racing series for the second-generation TVR Tuscan. A production version of the car was planned but it never materialized as the company was busy developing the upcoming Griffith and Chimaera models.
Initially, the second generation TVR Tuscan was powered by the venerable Rover V8 engine in 4.4 liter form producing over 400 hp. Later versions of the car received the 4.5 liter TVR Speed Eight engine (AJPV8) engine producing closer to 500 hp.
The TVR Tuscan Challenge ran from 1989 to 2005 when it was merged with the owner’s club series, which allows all TVR models to compete.
The car you see here was originally raced by Britain’s Mike Jordan with much success, including multiple wins in 1999 and 2000. It’s now been rebuilt and it’s being offered for sale with a price guide of £65,000 – £75,000, approximately $78,000 – $90,000 USD.

TVR – The Bare Knuckle British Automaker

TVR is a British sports car marque that was originally founded in 1946 by Trevor Wilkinson, the company name was famously formed by removing he letters r, e, and o from the founder’s name, resulting in TVR.

Above Video: This film from Goodwood Road & Racing tells the story of the TVR Tuscan shown in this article, it features both Mike and Andrew Jordan telling the story of the car.

Some have described TVR as being a hairy-chested alternative to Lotus, a company known for its finesse and precise handling. By comparison, TVR has produced a series of fire-breathing V8 and straight-six sports cars known for their total lack of safety features and their sheer speed.

Many TVRs over the years have used a tubular steel backbone chassis, independent front and rear suspension, and a lightweight fiberglass body – not dissimilar to Lotus.

As with many small-volume specialist automakers, TVR has suffered its fare share of financial instability over the years, with ownership changing a number of times and production stopping then restarting accordingly.

Most recently the company was bought in 2013 by a syndicate of British businessmen led by Les Edgar. A new TVR Griffith was unveiled at the Goodwood Revival in 2017 and was slated for production however this process stalled.

This Tuscan is fitted with the TVR Speed Eight engine, internally codenamed AJPV8. It’s capable of 450+ bhp.

In the company announced a multi-million pound investment from green lithium mining company Ensorcia, as well as a new proposed electric vehicle. TVR is now a sponsor of the 2021 2022 Formula E rounds in Monaco and London, and they’re planning to release an electric Griffith in 2024.

The TVR Tuscan Challenge Cars

The second generation TVR Tuscan was unveiled in prototype form at the 1988 British Motorshow, the original plan was to develop a production, street-legal version and a race version.

The car was powered by two engines over its production, initially by the venerable Rover V8 and later by the TVR Speed Eight engine (AJPV8) that had been developed specifically for TVR by Al Melling and John Ravenscroft.

The initial plans to create a production version of the TVR Tuscan were eventually shelved due to the fact that the company’s attention was focussed on developing the upcoming Griffith and Chimaera production cars.

As a dedicated race car, this Tuscan has a stripped down interior with plenty of side impact and roll over protection built in.

TVR offered the racing version of the Tuscan to anyone who wanted to join the one-make TVR Tuscan Challenge, a number of privateers, racing teams, and dealers bought cars and entered the series.

Starting in 1989, the racing series became well-known in the UK for its hard-fought battles and many up and coming drivers cut their teeth in the series including Jamie Campbell-Walter, Bobby Verdon-Roe, Martin Short, and Michael Caine.

Guest drivers also took part including Colin McRae, Tiff Needell, Andy Wallace, Tim Harvey, Anthony Reid, and John Cleland.

The chassis that underpinned the Tuscan was redeveloped over time, by the end it had been completely reengineered to ensure it could cope with the ever increasing horsepower levels.

As mentioned above, early cars got the Rover V8 and later cars were equipped with the considerably more advanced TVR Speed Eight engine, internally codenamed AJPV8. The cars had all independent suspension, disc brakes at all four corners, and a 5-speed Borg Warner T5 manual transmission sending power back to the rear differential.

The Tuscan was never put into production for road use, only the race cars were made. That said, many have modified them over the years to make them road legal.

Tipping the scales at just 850 kgs (1,874 lbs) and producing 450+ bhp, the Tuscans were exceptionally quick on track, and the surviving examples now make popular private track day cars as a result. Just 43 were built in total and they’re now highly collectible.

The TVR Tuscan Challenge Car Shown Here

The car you see here is one of the original TVR Tuscan Challenge race cars, it was built by the TVR factory race team for the 1999 season and it includes special-order Kevlar-reinforced floors.

Though the car was new, it was stripped before the season began and rebuilt by Mike Jordan’s Eurotech Racing team to incorporate improvements.

Thanks in no small part to these improvements, and to Mike Jordan’s well-known racing prowess, the car scored four wins in 1999 and three wins in 2000 – coming second in the championship in that second year.

The TVR Tuscan Challenge was known for its hard and fast racing, helped along by the fact that it was a one-make series that offered an almost level playing field.

After the 2000 season concluded the car was sold, but in 2018 it was tracked down and bought back by Mike Jordan and his son Andrew, a successful racing driver in his own right and the 2013 British Touring Car Champion.

Jordan’s team fully restored the car, it was stripped back to a bare chassis which was bead blasted and recoated for rust proofing.

The AJPV8 engine was rebuilt by Simon Woo, who had previously worked as the engine builder at the TVR factory race team, and the Penske dampers were rebuilt and calibrated to the original settings using information from Penske in the USA.

The original livery was then reapplied with great care given to get the details correct.

The car is now due to roll across the auction block with Silverstone Auctions on the 27th of August with a price guide of £65,000 – £75,000 which works out to approximately $78,000 – $90,000 USD.

If you’d like to read more about this car or register to bid you can visit the listing here.