A new Range Rover is a pretty momentous occasion for the automotive industry. Over the past half a century just three new ones have appeared, now up to four with the L460. And, well, they've proved more than a little popular over the decades, so naturally a lot of interest is generated when the latest one emerges. Tell you what else happens when a new Range Rover arrives - plucky buyers scavenge for cheap versions of old Range Rovers. Because for all their grandeur, they are prone to severe depreciation. While still, handily, feeling like a million bucks to travel in - the appeal is obvious.
This is an old Range Rover, but it isn't a cheap Range Rover. As the values of originals have soared, so the P38 followed as the next old and affordable model. That the 1990s are long enough ago now to be cool again has most certainly helped its cause, as there aren't many cars that look so of the decade as the second-generation Range Rover.
Moreover, the keen amongst you will have noticed this car's numberplate. It's a 'CVC' P38, a series of cars that shared the same final three letters and which remain quite notable in Range Rover circles. They were pre-production cars, assembled in 1994 when the final Classics were still being churned out, and used for an incredible launch campaign. Having first been shown at Cliveden, the CVCs were then exhibited in Botswana, Spain, Japan, the USA and even Tierra del Fuego. The launch was humbly called 'The Epic' by Range Rover, with media and prospective buyers able to see the new Range Rover across the globe via live feeds in dealerships. It was a campaign unlike anything that had been attempted before, and ensured the CVC cars were recognisable even before anyone outside of Land Rover had driven one.
M247 CVC was built on 28th July 1994, with has a Land Rover Heritage certificate to prove it. Which would make it a significant example already - but what makes it such an attractive Range Rover, if you're another one of those people slowly warming to the P38 look, is that it's been freshly restored. More than 130,000 miles old it may be - a life well-lived, hopefully - but what's described by the seller as "an all-encompassing restoration" has the Range looking as good as it would have more than 27 years ago. Perhaps better, in fact.
Sadly there's isn't tonnes of detail in the ad, but the pictures rather speak for themselves: glorious Biarritz Blue paint has been redone beautifully, the underside looks factory fresh, the interior is great and the engine bay immaculate. Clearly a lot of hours and money have been spent. It's a 4.0-litre rather than the flagship 4.6, but does have the manual gearbox. Which is another nice rarity to add to the list.
Inevitably, the quality comes at a cost, though. This one is for sale at £42,250, which buys an awful lot of any Range Rover, leave alone what remains an example of the least loved generation. But as well as being desirable, CVCs are getting rarer, with six of them in the Dunsfold Collection already. The appeal is very niche, of course, but that's exactly the kind of thing we're into on PH. And with this Range now fit for another 130,000 miles, there'll be nothing to hold the next owner back from adventures. Next stop Tierra del Fuego, right?
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