Let’s talk being old
Some embrace it. Others shrink at the thought of adding another 12 months onto their ‘time on this giant rock’.
Bit like those who’ve got that ‘January Jones look’ on their dating profile, but Hulk Hogan turns up for your first date.
Me? I embrace it.
The older I get, the less of a shit I give. That’s power right there.
But this isn’t about me or my age or any kind of power.
It’s about Land Rovers. More specifically… old Land Rovers. And someone asked me what I call ‘old’ (in Land Rover terms).
So let’s clear this up…
You’ve heard of the Camel Trophy?
For those who haven’t, Wikipedia describes it as…
“… a vehicle-oriented competition that was held annually between 1980 and 2000, and it was best known for its use of Land Rover vehicles over challenging terrain. The event took its name from its main sponsor, the Camel cigarette brand.”
Basically a bunch of hooligans disguised as adventurers, trashing Land Rovers, in far flung destinations (Papua New Guinea, Borneo, Siberia, Mongolia and Tierra del Fuego – to name a few).
Although “Teach your Land Rover to swim, and get air like the Dukes of Hazard” is probably a better way to describe it.
And Landys that have taken part in Camel Trophy challenges are:
- Series 3 (88″ and 109″)
- Range Rovers
- Discovery 200 tdi and 300 tdi
- The iconic 110 and 90
- and lastly, the underdog… ‘the Hippo’ (aka: the Freelander).
So that seems as good a place to start as any. Besides… it was about that time that Land Rover sold out and their course was changed forever.
So it’s pretty much a big no-no for anything Td5 and later.
That means… all Series motors, Range Rover classic, 110 & 90, Discovery 200 tdi and 300 tdi and the early Freelander.
Also, because Dick’s daily drive is ‘Reg’ the P38 Range Rover… we got some lovin’ for you P38 peeps, too.
It’s not that we don’t like the newer Land Rovers, it’s…. wait… yeeeah we don’t like the newer Land Rovers.
But before you hit reply and unleash CAPS LOCK FURY, go do some angry pushups. I’m not saying they’re bad cars. I’ve driven some late models and, as cars, they’re great. They just don’t have a place in Old Landys Rule.
But we’ve got BUCKETS of love for older Landys and their underdogs.
Glad we cleared that up.
Cheers, Phil.
PS. Speaking of the Camel Trophy… I watched an hour and a half video the other night on YouTube, covering the last 10 Camel Trophy challenges from the 80’s to the 90’s – when it was eventually dropped. Even as a long term Landy owner, I still nearly leapt out my seat when I saw how brutal those guys threw their Landys around… but grinned at just how admirably all the Landys performed. Worth a watch (although the quality’s pretty poor) – especially if you’ve never seen a floating Land Rover pushed by people or a Disco 1 getting ‘4 wheels off-the-ground air’ – check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGWp8R-IqoE