First Land Rover’s return celebrated in new book
A HISTORIC Land Rover which was left to rot in a barn for four decades is back on the road.
JUE 477 (the vehicle’s number plate) was the very first production Land Rover – the vehicle which went on to inspire an entire company. And now a new book – entitled simply JUE 477 – tells the story of chassis number 860001, constructed in Solihull.
Built in 1948, Land Rover number one was intended for presentation to King George VI, but actually ended up working on farms and mining sites in north-east England.
After 22 years of hard service, the well-used workhorse was sold to Northumberland farmer David Fairless for just £15. At the time he wasn’t sure whether to continue using the vehicle or to break it up for spares. Before long JUE 477 lay forgotten and exposed to the elements on the farm. Although David never restored JUE, in June 1998 he took it on a trailer to the Land
Rover Series One Club’s 50th anniversary rally at Shugborough Hall, Staffordshire.
Despite its ruinous state, it created such a stir that when David got back home, he hid the vehicle away in a tumbledown barn, barricaded behind an assortment of hay bales and vehicle parts. David died in 2017 and JUE 477 was subsequently sold to renowned Land Rover enthusiast Sir Jim Ratcliffe – the founder of chemical and automotive giant Ineos, the firm that is now recreating the classic Land Rover shape with its own Grenadier 4x4.
The vehicle was then treated to a sympathetic 18-month restoration, retaining as much of the original vehicle possible.
Author Martin Port sheds light on every stage in the car’s life in his new book.
It also covers how the Land Rover legend was born, giving Britain and the world a Jeep-inspired workhorse.
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