ENGINE: TOP SPEED: 0-60MPH:

3,528CC, V8

100MPH 14.3SEC Luxury wasn’t uppermost in mind when the first Range Rover was launched in 1970. David Bache, Gordon Bashford and Spen King’s original two-door workhorse was upholstered in tan velour, with a clanking manual transmission, soft, unsophisticated springing and a completely underpowered carburetted Buick/Rover V8 – the police even specified them with rubber flooring and stripped-out interiors.

But take nothing away from this 1,820kg beast that could wade, clamber and climb with the best of them, but which also wouldn’t look out of place covered in gunge, parked outside the Royal Opera House. That’s still true of today’s fourth generation.

Why you want one:

an original, dualpurpose car par excellence; brilliant off-road although on-road refinement and comfort took a while to catch up.

Why you don’t:

rust, thirst and a bit lumbering on Tarmac compared with later, more road-biased models.

You might not know:

early prototypes were badged as Velars after the Latin for veiled or sail. The name was subsequently adopted as a stand-alone model by Land Rover.

ENGINE: 3,781CC, 6 CYL TOP SPEED: 151MPH 0-60MPH: 6.9SEC

Irrevocably part of the Sixties, Malcolm Sayer’s wind-cheating design was the perfect replacement for the distinctly vintage outgoing XK150.

Based on the Le Manswinning D-type, but with a monocoque body and using complex subframes front and rear, the E-type was mired in controversy. Were the first test cars specially tuned? One of them was driven by John Langley, my predecessor at The Telegraph. The best E-type by far was the Series 1, 265bhp/260lb ft 3.8-litre coupé.

Why you want one:

a standout piece of design, great to drive, powerful and luxurious.

Why you don’t:

a bit, well, flash – especially the drophead cars. Late-model Series 3 heavy and flabby.

Enzo Ferrari is reported to have said the E-type was “the most beautiful car ever made”.

You might not know: