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We all thought that 'Huey', or HUE 166, was the oldest surviving Land Rover. The light green Series 1 has for decades been the star of Land Rover's historic fleet, and is the first pre-production model built.
However, there were other Land Rovers, built at the same time as Huey, and just in time for the company's 70th birthday this year, one has surfaced. It's one of the three original Series I Land Rovers built for both model and marque's debut at the 1948 Amsterdam motor show.
Last used on the road in the 1960s, this one has languished in a Welsh field for two decades, and was bought as a restoration project. It then spent another few years hanging out in a back garden - ironically in Solihull, in the UK, just beside Land Rover's main factory - before being discovered and brought home once again.
Now, it will be the subject of a careful and painstaking restoration, with the intention of showing it later this year alongside the all-new Defender, the long-awaited replacement for the Series I's successor. The restoration will be carried out by Jaguar Land Rover Classic, which has also been building 25 'Reborn' Series Is for well-heeled customers, and has just embarked on a 'Reborn' project for the Series I Range Rover.
Tim Hannig, Jaguar Land Rover Classic Director, said: "This Land Rover is an irreplaceable piece of world automotive history and is as historically important as 'Huey', the first pre-production Land Rover. Beginning its sympathetic restoration here at Classic Works, where we can ensure it's put back together precisely as it's meant to be, is a fitting way to start Land Rover's 70th anniversary year.
"There is something charming about the fact that exactly 70 years ago this vehicle would have been undergoing its final adjustments before being prepared for the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show launch - where the world first saw the shape that's now immediately recognised as a Land Rover."
The Jaguar Land Rover Classic team will follow a dedicated process to restore the launch vehicle, which has a lot of special features that are unique to the 48 pre-production Land Rovers that were produced prior to the mass production vehicles, such as thicker aluminium alloy body panels, a galvanised chassis and a removable rear tub. The patina of its components will be preserved, including the original Light Green paint applied in 1948.