The man who put the "Great" in Great Britain owned a Land Rover toward the end of his long life, and it's going up for auction in October. This one's got a few modifications, as this Brit was great indeed, especially around the waist.
By the time Churchill received this one-of-a-kind Land Rover — as a gift for his 80th birthday, in 1954 — he needed an extra wide passenger seat in the chauffeur-driven truck, to accommodate an ass that seemed to have absorbed most of the territory the British Empire had lost over the previous few decades.
The eight-inch-wide jumpseat between the chauffeur's seat and the commodious Churchill chair was converted into an arm rest, and a leather strap affixed to the metal dash so that the British Bulldog could hoist himself aboard for cruises around Chartwell, his 300-acre estate in Kent. Someone thoughtfully put in a little heater, too, so that Churchill, who had once served as an infantry officer in hot, dry places like Egypt and the Sudan, could enjoy another escape from England's soggy, sometimes chilly climate.
Churchill's Land Rover only had a handful of other owners after his death in 1965, and still has less than 13,000 miles on the odometer. The truck has, not surprisingly, never been owned by an American, which is just as well considering the former PM's words about us:
You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they've tried everything else.
Wow, sounds like Clarkson. I hope a yank buys it this time.
Photo credit: Cheffins