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Photos courtesy of Bring a Trailer

· One of the most iconic vehicles of all time

· Made popular through movies and documentaries

· Perhaps the most recognizable generation of Land Rover

After originally designed to enter production for just a few years to turn a profit for the Rover Company, Land Rover has grown over the last seven decades to become one of the most recognizable brands in the world. The earliest vehicles built in the late 1940’s were designed as a middle ground between a military Jeep and tractor, with its main feature being power take-off (PTO) to run agricultural accessories around the farm. These early trucks were extremely minimalistic to use the least number of rationed materials possible, and its simplicity is what has stood as a design staple now for generations. As the third iteration of the Land Rover, the Series IIA on display here is often the truck that represents the public’s perception of what a classic Land Rover is.

As basic as they are, early Land Rovers are extremely capable vehicles, even when judged by modern standards. Land Rovers were the first mass-produced vehicles equipped with four-wheel drive and utilized a transfer box for low range off roading. Because of steel rations, the bodies of these trucks were built from aluminum, which naturally saved weight and resisted rust. Very early on, buyers of these spartan trucks requested more creature comforts in the vehicles which led to leather interiors and larger models to accommodate more passengers. A few very niche implementations were utilized on these trucks, with one notable feature being the Tropical Roof. This was a second roof skin fitted on top of the standard roof of the truck, which keeps the interior of the truck cool in hot weather and minimizes condensation when it is cold.

The series II was first released in 1958 in an 88” wheelbase and 109” wheelbase and led to the very similar Series IIA which became available in 1961. There were very minor changes from the Series II to IIA, though one major design change was the headlight placement, which were moved from between the front fenders to the outside of the fenders, which noticeably modernized the look of the trucks. These stood as immensely popular trucks in their time and had moved away from agricultural tools to more general utility vehicles and people movers. The IIA trucks were featured in several films and popular documentaries in period, including Born Free which was set in Africa.