Rover’s chief engineer, Maurice Wilks, impressed by the ex-army Jeep he used around his farm in Anglesey, realised there was a market for a similar vehicle when his elder brother, Rover MD Spencer Wilks, visited in 1947 and asked, “What will you do when it wears out?”. The resulting Land-Rover became a world-wide success and only ceased production in 2016 after 2,016,933 had been built. The example modelled, production prototype 3 of 48, is the only surviving vehicle from the Land-Rover’s original April 1948 launch at the Amsterdam Show, having initially been dispatched to Rover’s London depot in Seagrave Road on 27^th April 1948, then driven to Amsterdam for its starring role.

GWD 431 was the first example to be road-registered as a ‘Land-Rover’ on 21^st May 1948, and has unique details such as the red badge on the front-offside wing. It was initially used as a promotional vehicle and then sold to the Kingston Tanning Co, which was run by Geoffrey Wilks, Maurice’s brother. Current owner, Tim Dines, saw it on a Devon Farm during a family holiday in 1974, when he was sixteen, and borrowed Â£200 from his sister Nicola to buy it after discovering it was Land-Rover number 3. With help from his family Tim restored it just in time for the Land-Rover’s 50th birthday celebrations at Gaydon in April 1998. He treasures this important historic vehicle, the second oldest surviving Land-Rover.

Engine capacity: 1595cc 4IL. IOEV
Power: 50bhp@4000rpm
Torque: 80lb.ft@2000rpm
Max speed: 55mph
Payload: 1000lb
Weight (unladen): 2594lbs