If you Fancy a Crack at the London to Cape Town Record - How About this 'Wolf in Sheep's Clothing'?

10,000 miles…21 countries…2 continents… 1965 V8 Land Rover

The record for journeying by car from London to Cape Town was set in 2013 by seasoned rally drivers Robert Belcher, and Stephen Cooper, driving 1,000 miles a day to achieve a time of 10 days, 3 hours and 16 minutes.

The H&H Classics 1965 Land Rover Series IIA 5.5 litre V8 Special would be ideal for making history by beating the London to Cape Town record. The sale is on March 15th at the Imperial War Museum. Duxford.

It is entered in the auction from a private collection and is estimated to sell for £15,000 - £20,000. Professionally reconfigured by Lovell Landrovers of Lincoln (with work completed in early 2006), the Series IIA bodywork augmented by later doors and fitted to a shortened, coil-sprung Range Rover chassis.

Powered by a Chevrolet 5.5 litre V8 engine built to fast road specification by Huddart Racing Engines of Crewe and ZF power assisted steering, more modern heater, roll-over bar, canvas tilt, this beast is built to take on Africa.

Having a penchant for Specials especially if their creation involves a serious horsepower increase, the vendor acquired ‘KPE 791C’ as a standard four-cylinder Land Rover Series IIA 88in during 2001. Dissatisfied with the way it went, stopped and handled, he hatched a plan to transform the 4x4’s dynamic capabilities. Professionally reconfigured by Lovell Landrovers of Leicester, ‘KPE 791C’ had its body augmented with extended wheel arches and later doors (incorporating wind-up windows) before being transplanted onto a shortened Range Rover chassis. The latter retained its coil-sprung suspension, power assisted steering, automatic transmission, high / low transfer box and disc brakes etc. The search for extra performance led the seller to commission Huddart Racing Engines of Crewe to build a ‘fast road’ 340 cu in (5.5 litre) V8 engine for the project. Boasting an Eagle cast crankshaft, uprated conrods, hypereutectic pistons, Pro-Action Hi-torque cylinder heads, Crane hardened pushrods, Crane camshaft and Holley 600cfm carburettor, the powerplant exhales via a Custom Stainless Steel Racing Exhaust.

Kept garaged as part of a private collection, ‘KPE 791C’ is a real ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’. Featuring a far more efficient heater and uprated CD Tuner with iPod interface, the Chevy-powered Landie / Rangie hybrid has covered less than 2,000 miles since its completion during early 2006.

Riding on 16x7J wheels and equipped with a substantial rollover hoop and canvas tilt, ‘KPE 791C’ would doubtless cost considerably more than the guide price to replicate today. An intriguing and pleasingly understated Special, the 4x4 is offered for sale with V5C Registration Document (which classifies it as a ‘Historic Vehicle’), Huddart Racing Engines and Lovell Landrover invoices plus sundry paperwork.