“Looking after more recent Land Rover prototypes is a real challenge”

that’s what marks them out as prototypes. It also means that no one wants to hire them for, say, film or TV use. Yet they still have to be stored and maintained, which obviously costs money.

Looking after these modern vehicles is actually harder than the old ones, even though they are so much younger, because of their complicated electronics. I try to run the modern stuff as much as possible, driving it around a private estate near the Collection to keep everything lubricated and working smoothly, and also to ensure that fuel is regularly passed through the system to prevent it going stale. It’s always a relief when you turn a key or press the starter button and the vehicle fires up straightaway. If it doesn’t, finding the problem can be the devil of a job.

I’ll freely admit that I’m not an expert on fixing modern Land Rover products. In fact, I hardly ever get to drive them, because I’m not invited on model launches like I was in the old days. I do have contacts in JLR’S Engineering Department that I can call up if I get stuck, but I don’t like to bother people unless I absolutely have to. I imagine that the engineers are glad to see the back of these prototypes, and they must be thinking, “it’s that blasted Bashall again”, when they see my number come up on their phones…

So I’ll always do what I can to get a vehicle running. However, I had real trouble the other day with our 2010 Range Rover L405 development mule. This vehicle has the unique distinction of being used as a mule for two different models! It was built in October 2010 to test the L405, and then re-chassised a year later to develop the L494 Range Rover Sport, which makes it rather special. Mind you, special wasn’t the word I used to describe it when I was trying to start it. The dash display was showing Smart Key Found, but the engine wouldn’t crank over or respond in any way.

I had the starter wires off, tried bridging connections, everything I could think of – and then someone said, “Are you sure it’s not the remote key?” I didn’t see how it could be, given the message on the dash, but I replaced the batteries in the remote and, lo and behold, the engine fired up straight away. The remote key must have had just enough juice to be recognised by the vehicle, but not enough to disable the immobiliser. I wouldn’t have believed it possible if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.

Such a frustrating experience, and how different from when I went to start the Collection’s 1954 Series I 107 the other day. I checked the fluid levels, bumped up the tyre pressures and drove it straight off to Luxembourg on my annual trip with Series I-owning mates. It didn’t miss a beat there and back, and I saw 72mph on the speedometer at one point.

As I said, newer doesn’t always mean better where reliability’s concerned. THE DUNSFOLD COLLECTION is not yet open to the public but is hoping to establish a permanent museum. You can help make that a reality by becoming a Friend of the Collection for an annual subscription of £35. Visit www.dunsfoldcollection.co.uk to find out more.