By: Dave Abrahams
Solihull, West Midlands - After 67 years of continuous production, the iconic box-shaped Land Rover has hit an amazing milestone in its final year.
In May 2015 Land Rover invited adventurer Bear Grylls and a group of special guests, including Jaguar Land Rover boss Ralph Speth and 'Born Free' actress Virginia McKenna, to help assemble Defender 2 000 000 - the two millionth Land Rover.
And remember, that does not include the Discovery or Range Rover models - just the Series I, II, III and the Defender. Production of the Land Rover began at the Lode Lane plant late in 1947, ahead of its official debut at the Amsterdam motor show on 30 April 1948, and is scheduled to end in December 2015.
This very special Landy, however, is finished in satin silver, with black rims, wheel arches, roof, door hinges and mirror housings, and a map of Red Wharf Bay, where the design for the original Land Rover was drawn in the sand, on its aluminium fender.
CHARITY AUCTION
There's a special 'No. 2 000 000' badge on the back, with a similar design on the interior console, and an aluminium plaque on the drivers seat plinth bearing the signatures of everybody who helped build it.
The leather seats also carry the Red Wharf Bay graphic, with the 'No. 2 000 000' logo stitched on the head restraints, and it wears the registration number S90 166, as a tribute to the very first pre-production Land Rover, HUE 166, which is still in the Land Rover museum.
S90 116 will be seen in public for the first time this weekend (25-28 June) on the Bonhams stand at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and, after a string of public appearances, it will be auctioned on 16 December during a charity event at the Bonhams auction house in New Bond Street, London.
The proceeds will go to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and McKenna's Born Free Foundation.