LAND ROVER RANGE ROVER VOUGE SE - £Auction
This lot will be auctioned via Iconic Auctioneers, The Iconic Sale at the NEC Classic Motor Show 2025 on Saturday the 8th of November, NEC, Birmingham, B40 1NT. It has often been said that the L322-generation Range Rover represents the ultimate expression of the marque’s original brief – luxury, authority and unstoppable capability in perfect balance. Launched in 2006 in TDV8 form, this updated model is widely regarded as the high-water mark of the Range Rover line, a view shared most memorably by Harry Metcalfe and Jeremy Clarkson in their now-legendary Harry’s Garage review, viewed over 2.7 million times. In that film, they praised the L322 as the best Range Rover ever made and swore they would never part with theirs. Since then, Clarkson’s own L322 has gone on to achieve cult status thanks to its regular appearances on the hit television series Clarkson’s Farm, becoming one of the most famous Range Rovers in the world. And yet, the remarkable example offered here is surely equally topical. Delivered on the same day as Jeremy Clarkson’s Range Rover, it carries a chassis number just ten units apart and a registration differing by only two letters (BJ57 OLH vs. Clarkson’s BJ57 OJV). In their video, Clarkson and Metcalfe debate whether the Queen’s Range Rover was “the wrong colour”; however, research confirms that this car’s Tonga Green Metallic is understood to be the correct colour as ordered. It is therefore not only extraordinarily close to Clarkson’s in production terms, but even more special in origin. Supplied new via Land Rover Special Vehicles to HM The Queen under Contract No. 43086, this Vogue SE 3.6 TDV8 Automatic carries a Special Vehicles chassis tag and SVO contact reference (svhelp@landrover.com), confirming its bespoke preparation. It is believed to be the only Tonga Green 3.6 TDV8 diesel L322 supplied to Her Majesty, differing from other Royal examples which were typically petrol. Early servicing was carried out by Land Rover Vehicle Operations at Gaydon and is recorded in the original service booklet. What elevates this car beyond documented supply is the photographic evidence included in the history file. Our vendor discovered images of HM The Queen driving this very car—believed at the Royal Windsor Horse Show and Sandringham—wearing matching clothing, with the unique seat piping and interior trim making identification unmistakable. Further images reveal HRH The Duke of Edinburgh’s hat resting inside, and consecutive shots of Their Majesties in the same outfits. The car also displays the two location holes for securing grab handles fitted to many Royal Range Rovers for ease of access to the rear seats and a factory dog guard, entirely consistent with Royal use. After leaving Royal service, the car passed into private hands and around ten years ago was subject to a Category D insurance claim, believed by our vendor to relate to a minor interior electrical issue rather than structural damage. It later spent time in Spain, where the paintwork suffered from the effects of prolonged sunshine. Incredibly, when it was eventually offered for sale, it surfaced less than fifty miles from our vendor’s home. A great admirer of Jeremy Clarkson and his now-iconic L322 from Clarkson’s Farm, he saw this as the ideal tow car and purchased it in a state of disrepair. The Range Rover arrived on a trailer and sat at his property awaiting recommissioning, with over 120,000 miles recorded. For weeks, it was simply a future workhorse. Then one day, whilst thumbing through the service booklet, he noticed SVO stamps from Land Rover Vehicle Operations and recalled Iconic Auctioneers’ sale of another Royal Range Rover. Curious, he researched the registration and chassis number—and realised what he had. In that instant, everything changed. He even considered removing the number plates in case anyone else recognised its significance and decided they might want it. From that moment, the car was treated with the reverence its provenance demanded. He had the paintwork restored, the interior refreshed, and, in an extraordinary twist, managed to locate and reunite the original Land Rover Special Vehicles telephone, headphone and rear entertainment equipment, quite possibly the very items supplied with the car when new. A VentureCam system is also included and a correct bonnet dog mascot, as seen in period photographs, has been sourced and now fitted. Whilst being a sibling to the, currently, famous Clarkson’s Farm Range Rover would render this Vogue SE eminently collectable, fame is fleeting and the fact that the vehicle on offer here was closely associated with HM The Queen, built and prepared to her specification, serviced by Special Vehicles under Contract No. 43086, uniquely finished, and believed to be the only diesel example, we would suggest offers rather more lasting provenance and makes it one of the most important ‘modern era’ Range Rovers. With modest remedial work, a future owner could return it to the exact standard required by its first keeper – though even in its current form, its historical and cultural value is undeniable. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire the definitive L322, with Royal provenance, celebrity connection and documented evidence. A British icon, in every sense.
- 0 Miles
AUTOMATIC
RHD
- RefCode: DB20088A-1529-6111-9D9A-E5C5C2D86055