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Land Rover 1951 Series I Rover bosses, the Wilks brothers, saw the need for a tough, four-wheel drive utility vehicle to serve the needs of the agricultural community in the immediate post-war years, but the Land Rover's runaway success took the company by surprise. The necessity of using aluminium panels at a time of severe steel shortage turned into a positive virtue in the Land Rover's sphere of operations and the use of existing components including the Rover 10 saloon's 1,595cc, four-cylinder, side-valve engine kept production costs down and cut development time. Progressively developed since its launch in 1948 and modified to serve countless specialist requirements, the ubiquitous Land Rover looks set to continue well into the 21st Century. This short wheelbase (80") Series I has the 1,595cc engine and is finished in green with matching interior. The vehicle, which the present owner rescued from a Leicestershire field in 1997, is believed to have had a military career up until 1964 - there were faint elephant motifs on a pale sky blue background on the doors and triangular markings on the front wings. In 1998 it was taken to noted specialists Frog Island 4x4, in Oxfordshire for a complete chassis-up rebuild which was completed in 1999, the main restorer being an ex·Army fitter of considerable Land Rover experience. The Land Rover remains in excellent condition throughout following the restoration having only been used in dry Summer conditions. The car has recently undergone a full service and brake overhaul, a new MOT certificate was issued at this time. The car comes with a history file containing photographs and all associated invoices documenting the restoration work completed. This is an especially nice and collectable Land Rover that will still provide much enjoyment and maybe even practical use next Winter!