This historic Land Rover Series One was driven by the Queen and the recently-coronated King more than 50 years ago. It’s expected to sell for up to £150,000 ($AU272,500).
A classic Land Rover which was owned by the Royal Family for more than a decade is set to be auctioned in the UK next year.
Listed by Silverstone Auctions, the Land Rover Series One was the 11th to be built in 1953, with Queen Elizabeth II taking delivery about a year after she succeeded her father, King George VI, as the leader of the Commonwealth.
According to the listing, the Land Rover was commissioned by the Royal Family and delivered to Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where it was registered ‘NXN 1’ in 1954.
Most of it time was reportedly spent on the grounds of Balmoral, driven by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, while the heir apparent Prince Charles (now King Charles III) also had time behind the wheel.
The Queen Mother reportedly drove the Land Rover at the nearby Birkhall estate before the off-roader was sold to its most recent owner in 1966, subsequently re-registered ‘LXC 894D’.
There are conflicting reports about the history of the Land Rover between 1966 until now, with Silverstone Classics claiming it has resided with its current owner in Ballater, Scotland since it was purchased from the Royal Family.
According to a social media post in a UK owner’s group, The Land Rover Series One Club, the Land Rover was featured in a 2015 episode of Antiques Roadshow, although it was fitted with the original ‘NXN 1’ number plates – not ‘LXC 894D’.
The listing includes photos of the Land Rover Series One at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in February 2022, one of more than 26 cars from the Jaguar Land-Rover group displayed to celebrate her 70 years as the UK’s head of state.
Between 1950 and 1958, the Land Rover Series One was powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, mated to a four-wheel drive system.
In its nearly 70-year life, this example has recorded more than 53,500 miles (86,000km) on its odometer, according to the auction house.
Silverstone Auctions estimates the Royal Family’s Land Rover Series One could sell for between £100,000 ($AU181,750) to £150,000 ($AU272,500), with bidding scheduled to begin on 25 February 2023 at 11am AEDT.
Last month, a Jaguar X-Type wagon which had first been registered to the Queen sold for £39,200 ($AU71,250) at auction – more than 2.5 times the £15,000 ($AU26,500) sale price of an almost identical example – with a less impressive history – in 2016.
In August 2022, Silverstone Auctions sold Princess Diana’s Ford Escort RS Turbo for £724,000 ($AU1.32 million), eclipsing the auction record for a car owned by the late Princess, which had been held by a 1994 Audi 80 cabriolet which sold for £58,000 ($AU102,000 today) in March 2020.
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