A used car dealer has made one of the sales of a lifetime after his historic Range Rover was sold at auction for £115,000.
Peter Garside, boss of the Huddersfield Land Rover Centre at Lockwood , is in the money after he sold the first ever Range Rover 4x4.
The 44-year-old classic, dubbed Chassis No 1, was the first pre-production model of the now well known marque, now popular with footballers and celebrities alike.
The nail biting auction in London last night saw a number of bidders compete for the rare car, driving the price up from £80,000 until the hammer was brought down at a stunning six figure sum.
Mr Garside did not attend the auction but described the final price as “cheap as chips”.
“Somebody’s got a bargain there,” he said.
The Land Rover enthusiast said he had felt a tinge of emotion as he drove the old car off for the final time.
“It was a wreck when I found it,” he said.
“It had chickens living in it.
“Now it’s just as good as the day it drove off the assembly line.
“I’d never thought about selling it but Silverstone Auctions contacted me after they saw it in a magazine.
“It sent my mind ticking and I thought, I’ve looked after it for 25 years, it’s time for somebody else to have a chance.
“It’s been a labour of love and when it came to driving it down there I was a bit weepy.”
Prior to 1970, Land Rover made only smaller off-road vehicles for the military and farmers.
The Range Rover marked a new era of larger, luxurious, more driver-friendly cars with wider appeal.
Chassis No 1 was made at the Rover factory in Solihull in late 1969 and registered on January 2, 1970.
It still has its original engine and just 86,000 miles on the clock.
The car was considered lost for a number of years after its original green paintwork was resprayed gold and the number plate was changed.
But it was found in a farmyard in Kent in 1985 by Mr Garside and his then business partner Chris Greenwood.
Mr Garside undertook a six-year-long “nut and bolt” restoration project and returned it to its classic olive green.
