The Queen’s Series III
Dean Kronsbein set out to buy a classic Land Rover and ended up owning one originally built for the Queen
Royal addition to classic Land Rover collection
What have three classic Bentleys, one of the most luxurious Rolls-Royce limousines ever built and a Series III got in common? Answer – they’re all part of an exclusive Best of British classic car collection assembled by German industrialist Dean Kronsbein. Yet in a number of ways, the Landy is the most exclusive, having been specially converted for HM the Queen.
Let’s wind back a little and explain how this special collection of vehicles gained its (literally) crowning glory.
British-born Dean, 53, runs German specialist compressed air filtration manufacturer Ultrafilter GmbH, and his other passion is classic British cars from the top end of the market. But having acquired the Bentleys and the Roller, he found himself hankering after one of his childhood dreams - a Land Rover to complete the set.
Then one Saturday morning towards the end of 2012 he and his wife Sabine were reading in bed. She drew his attention to an article in Country Life about a Land Rover specially built for the Queen to use on parade, being sold by auction.
“I looked at the article and realised the sale was that very day,” he told LRM. “I rang the auctioneers, Historics at Brooklands, put in a bid and literally bought the vehicle unseen over the phone.”
One of the special features of this vehicle is its remote control system, designed to allow a member of her Majesty’s entourage to give unseen instructions to the driver .
According to a steel plaque fitted to the vehicle, the Land Rover was adapted for Royal use by the British Army’s Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), then based at Donington (designated as 34 Central Workshop).
But let’s wind back even further. Dean’s love of Land Rovers began at the tender age of 13, when he used to cycle in his school holidays to a farm close to the then family home at Cleethorpes to help harvest potatoes.
“The farmer had a Series II in pale blue with a canvas hood. I was fascinated by this vehicle. I had no way of buying one and nowhere to drive it so the idea of owning such a vehicle remained a dream for much of my early life.
"He had his dog in the back and that vehicle epitomised life in the British countryside. - something I had always aspired to do.”
At the age of 17, after his parents separated, Dean went to Germany to live with his father, where he studied engineering and joined his father’s firm making high-quality compressed air filtration units. Some years later the firm was sold to an American company and Dean set up his own operation – of which he is still CEO. It was the success of this company, Ultrafilter, that has allowed him to build up his car collection.
About 15 years ago he and his wife, Sabine, did buy a brand-new Defender, which she used mainly to run the kids to school. After about ten years they sought something more comfortable and part exchanged the Defender for a Discovery, which in turn was replaced by a Range Rover ( just over three years ago) and they still have. But Dean still hankered after a
Series Landy to add to his collection.
Then on November 24, 2012, there, was that life-changing article in Country Life. He and Sabine were in the habit of studying the magazine for property adverts, as they plan to relocate to the UK (by November this year).
“We agreed to find out more because it was an intriguing opportunity to acquire something with a unique pedigree and heritage,” he recalls.
Not being in the sale room he wasn’t able to see what the strength of the bidding was like, but suddenly Dean found himself the owner of this vehicle. Of course at this point he’d not seen it – only a few photos online. He remembers taking great delight in phoning his wife and telling her that they were now the new owners of Her Majesty’s Land Rover. The very first owners since the Queen no less.
We asked whether he had a reserve when bidding? “I decided not to go higher than £25,000, bearing in mind that an ordinary Series III in good condition can fetch between £14,000 and £16,000 – at least the ones I’ve seen – but the extra pedigree of this vehicle made it worth going a bit higher.”
With the auction house commission the eventual price paid was around £28,000. The bidding was apparently fierce – the publicity the car attracted (it was also featured in the DailyTelegraph) meant that interest had been very high in the days preceding the auction.
And his wife’s reaction, having complained about the comfort levels (or lack of them) in the family’s former Defender? Dean laughs. “We still have the Range Rover for school trips, so she doesn't have to drive it. This is just a fun car for me,” smiles Dean.
Then the vehicle arrived in Germany, and Dean’s first thought was its poor condition. Whilst it had been garaged all its life – apart from when being used for ceremonial duties by Her Majesty – it obviously hadn’t been as lovingly looked after as it might. “It still had the original tyres on, and they were all warped. The covers of the seats were dirty. The chrome was not as you’d expect it to be, and the paint was scratched and marked.
“You don’t see that level of detail on the Internet when you’re buying something unseen. In the pictures it looked okay. The success of my business is manufacturing components to the highest possible quality, and that’s how I am as an engineer. I like
"amazingly, it has just 1936 miles on the clock"
things that I own to be in the condition in which they might have come out of the factory. However, I’m now pleased to say that after three years’ restoration, this vehicle is now in its original condition. I was disappointed by the condition it arrived in, but at least it gave me an opportunity to put a small piece of British heritage back into perfect condition.”
In order to get the restoration under way he gave the Landy to a body restoration specialist in Hilden near where his factories are based (close to Düsseldorf ). The company was more used to restoring German machinery such as Porsches and Mercedes, so it was something of a challenge.
“I said to them I’d like this brought back to its truly original condition. So we analysed paint – what was the original paint at that time? – and then we set about stripping the car down to its chassis. The chassis itself was okay, as you’d expect of a vehicle which had spent most of its life indoors. It just needed cleaning and has been given a good painting including a generous application of underseal.”
So how much did all this cost? Dean confesses. “I think in total we’ve invested the same amount of money as it took to buy the vehicle. But then it’s something I’m going to cherish and keep.”
While the bodyshop set about restoring the main panels and painting them, there were other items Dean helped to source. For instance the one-off curved Plexiglass screen designed to protect Her Majesty while the vehicle was in motion, was cracked. “I found one of only three companies in Germany specialising in forming Plexiglass, and had it remade to the original specification.”
Land Rover Monthly also played a significant role. Dean took out a subscription for two years and pored through its pages every month on the lookout for component suppliers. For example the lamp covers which had either cracked or perished and a number of other small parts, were replaced with new ones sourced from LRM advertisers.
Had he expected the work to take three years? “These things always take longer than you anticipate, because as you take bits apart you see other things that need replacing or fixing. Along the way I took all the chrome parts to be re-plated, which also meant the restoration being held up until those parts had come back.
“Then when the bodywork was finished, it went to a different company to have all the upholstery and carpeting redone. I've basically co-ordinated the restoration myself, using individual specialists. Few of the jobs could be done in parallel, but most had to be done in a certain order, one after another.
“I said to the body restorer at the outset, that as soon as they got to the stage of putting the car back together, we’d look at any detail which didn’t meet high quality standards. If they could be replaced I’d find out, and that’s how it worked.”
Amazingly the Queen’s Landy has just 1936 miles on the clock. But Dean isn’t worried about putting a few more on it. Nor does he see it being used as everyday transport. “Being a totally open topped car with no roof, it lends itself to driving only in good weather. There’s no rain or cold weather protection at all, so I just anticipate using it on nice sunny days.”
Will it pain him to see the mileage creep up? “I don’t think doing 10,000 miles will do it any harm because with only occasional use, that point will be reached in 50 years’ time. To have a car made in 1978 with only 10,000 miles on the clock, will still be quite something.”
So if Dean’s plans work out, the Queen’s Land Rover will be driving around a country estate, back in Britain by the end of the year. He’s thinking it may be good for things like shooting parties. What will guests on those events think of this special vehicle? “Everybody I’ve shown the vehicle to here in Germany has been gob-smacked. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it over here. It’s regarded as something very special, due to its pedigree. It’s far more impressive than the most expensive Ferrari for instance.”
Having said that, the 2-litre petrol-engined
"I'm very proud of the Royal family"
vehicle is not exactly fast. He jokes: “You can get up to 60mph and then you don’t want to go any quicker anyway.”
Will he be driving while Sabine stands in the back, issuing commands via the special remote control system? Dean finds this idea very amusing indeed. “We’ll see,” he says. “I love driving this vehicle, even though it has a very rugged gearbox. Also as I’m six foot two, it’s a little cramped inside, so it’s not a car I’m going to enjoy driving long distances in. Saying that, I did once drive our Defender 750 miles from Düsseldorf to St Moritz nonstop to attend a New Year’s Eve party. Then again the cockpit on the Series III feels a little smaller than the Defender and the suspension harder.
“You’ve also got a lot of things that bounce around at the back of the car including the ladders for the walk-in viewing platform, which mean it’s not something you’d use for long distances anyway.”
Incidentally these steps are cleverly made and fold under the car when not in use.
As an engineer, how did he feel about the original craftsmanship of the REME engineers? “I think they did a good job. I can’t criticise anything they did – but then the main function of the vehicle was very simple. It was intended for two people to ride in the back – one of them standing holding tight with one hand while waving with the other.”
Dean does slightly question the need for the remote control system as when standing up in the back, her Majesty would only have been about a foot from the driver. Evidently it wasn’t just done for her to be seen to be speaking while on parade. The actual commands (start, slow or stop) must have been issued by an aide sitting in the back of the viewing platform. “So that person, for whom there was an extra seat in the back, was actually further away from the driver than the Queen herself,” he explains.
Would he consider buying any other exRoyal vehicles? “The Queen always used to have a Rolls-Royce and the Mark five Phantom was manufactured for the Royal Family. I’ve been fortunate in acquiring a Mark V with James Young bodywork. Although it’s not actually a Royal car, it has very much a Royal flair about it.
“As far as other vehicles are concerned, I don’t think there could be anything else which combines my interests - especially my love of Land Rovers since my teens. So that’s probably it as far as Royal cars are concerned.
“However as a British citizen, which I am, the Royal Family is something I’m very proud of. Particularly having lived in Germany for many years and looked at Britain from the outside as it were – I can see the contribution the Royal Family makes to the success of the United Kingdom.
“Last year I was invited to the annual Concours d’Elegance originally initiated for the Queen’s 60th anniversary as Monarch. At the Hampton Court event I met a Vice Admiral who is the ‘ housemaster’ of Buckingham Palace. I didn’t tell him I’d got this Land Rover but this year’s event will be held at Holyrood, and I intend to show him the photos I have of the car. Perhaps he can tell me more about it.”