A Range Rover owned by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (who celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary yesterday) is being auctioned on 22 May, with an estimate of £30,000-£40,000. That’s less than a bog-standard Defender 90, which starts at £44,895.
Update: The Royal Range Rover sold for £50,625 including premium, showing again that vehicles with a unique provenance often have the potential to far exceed expectations at auction.
First registered in 2013, the SDV8 Vogue SE model has a mere 38,420 miles on the clock, and wears registration OY13 TBU. It even has some of its extended Land Rover warranty remaining (until July 2021) and is entitled to a free service this year at JLR in Slough.
Plug the numberplate into the DVLA’s database and it draws a blank – mysterious! According to Bonhams, this is a rare example of an ex-royal household Range Rover that has kept its registration number, whereas most are given new plates once sold to the public.
The top-of-the-range L405 is finished in Baltic Blue, trimmed in Almond and Espresso leather, and comes with goodies such as a chilled drinks cabinet, electrically deployable tow bar, remote park heating, high-end Meridian sound system and panoramic roof.
And now for something completely different
Other highlights of the sale include a ragtop 1959 Series II (estimated at £6-10k) that has been in the same family’s ownership for 59 years, covering under 22k miles. Apparently it needs a bit of work but seems to be oozing character. We've seen a few Series Land Rovers under-perform at auction lately, but impressive prices are still being paid.
There’s also a 1987 One Ten V8 fire tender in need of an MoT (estimated at £10-15k) and a top-spec 2010 supercharged Range Rover L322 Autobiography (estimated at £12-16k). Or for something even more different… how about a 1963 Austin Gypsy fire truck (estimated at £8-12k)?
Update: The One Ten fire tender was unsold, and the L322 sold for £13,500 including premium.