Richard Hammond on the greatest barn find of all time

You may already know this, but I like off-roaders. There's something about a four before it's Spirit of Adventure. It's about form following function. It's a machine designed to work and do the job you want and need it to do today. I want to tell you a story about one that is not this one. I will arrive at this one in a few off-road vehicles, some of them have conquered mountains and deserts. However, this is the story of a specific off-roader and it is one that launched a phenomenon. 75 Years ago the grandfather of the four by four came off the production line and became an icon Land Rover number one Thu 477 or Dewey for short number one of two million and has a tail like no other jury was the first Land Production rover was ever delivered on July 29, 1948 originally according to notes that were to be given to the king, but at the last minute it changed and was finally sent to a professor you and McEwen were at the University of Newcastle and then in the early 70's it was sold to a farmer in the North East of England for a very small sum of money and the story gets a little dark after decades the original Land Rover was nothing more than a myth .

I've been interested in early Land Rovers since I was a child and One of the most important vehicles in Land Rover history that just completely disappeared from the face of the Earth was the first production Land Rover chassis. The number one of these vehicles has followers all over the world to the point that people from all over the world were asking, do you know where it is, why hasn't it been found, does something exist about it, has it broken down, are we looking for parts for others? cars and there were rumors about it on a farm somewhere in the northeast of England, and as the story goes it goes while the light was fading one day and the snow was blowing everywhere there it was hidden for almost 50 years with people who had made It was practically his life's work to try to

find

out, the rumors proved correct in July 477 they resurfaced on a farm in Northumberland, but the years had not been very good after many decades of lying in the countryside and in a roofless

barn

, the vehicle was quite tired but still in very good condition, unfortunately the farmer passed away and his family decided to sell the vehicle through our Thanks to my work in valuing and appraising vintage and classic cars and our lifelong knowledge of Land Series one rover, the family found me and asked if I could speak to them about an important vehicle they had, so after several months I was finally able to see a vehicle that had by then been moved to the safety of a Down Stone

barn

hidden almost in plain sight in a village when the barn doors finally opened, there was, absolutely, undeniably, unquestionably, the number one Land Rover, the Land Rover Die Hard.

Fanatic with a life

time

of interest since he was a child in seeing these things face to face with Jue. It was absolutely incredible. It was attacked by the elements for almost 50 years and was ultimately in probably the worst condition of all. I had seen a Land Rover and it had almost broken in half, so it was in an extremely sorry state despite its appearance. The family decided to hold a sealed bid auction to give Dewey a unique opportunity to purchase the first Land Rover in history. produced, we are allowed to inspect the car, you could see it and then you had to make a decision, you had to write down the price.

Luckily, Jim and his idiots were invited to bid and, even luckier, we picked the right number I needed. a brave mind and a brave approach to even contemplate bringing him back to life. The new owner of possibly the most important 4x4 on the planet was a businessman, industrialist and adventurer. Enter Sir Jim Ratcliffe. I think we were delighted to win the auction that we were obviously in. Halfway through the Grenadier project we described it as a spiritual successor to the Land Rover and when we talked about the London we were talking about the first iconic vehicle.

I mean, the jury was at that

time

an excellent off-road vehicle of its generation. As we now believe that the Grenadier is today from our current generation, the Fibonac went on sale, we thought we would give it a try, it came with a bit of trepidation that we would have to restore this car now in the hands of its new owners. The decision was made to restore Dewey and for Sir Jim and his team there was only one man for the job. It was such a shock that I had to take a little walk. It could have been the best thing I've ever done, but it could still have been the worst decision I ever made because I was in really bad shape if I miscalculated the restoration or miscalculated the amount of work it would take.

I've ruined something truly historic. The answer was: we have absolute confidence in you. and the small team of him, so we are behind you, we had agreed on a two-year period to restore jue, so over several months we very, very carefully disassembled it into its components and evaluated absolutely everything. Joey was exceptionally complete, all major components. It was all there so it was amazing and in fact everything was in pretty original condition but the chassis was always going to be the problem, it's the identity of the vehicle but it's the worst twisted rotten mess you'll ever see but It is absolutely 100.

Undeniable percent that it is the original chassis that we keep. The easiest thing for other people would have been to throw out the chassis, put a new one underneath, new body panels, new engine, but that was not the spirit of this restoration. very simple it was to save whatever could be saved that soul that feeling that the DNA was preserved absolutely whenever possible from the engine to a single nut after two years of painstaking research careful reconstruction and a lot of love Dewey was ready to be returned to its owner, all the emotions run through my mind as we hand it over to Sir Jim.

I watched him drive down the road. It was the best moment to see the smile. His face lit up completely when he saw it for the first time. It really was a wonderful car. It was tough, it was practical, it was a go-anywhere car, it's very authentic, but it looks wonderful and you know, it's a great looking car, a really fantastic looking car, so with the restoration done, I want I mean, I don't think any of us really knew what it was. What was going to happen was a possible exhibition at the Museum, so what happens next?

I really didn't know. In fact, I don't think anyone knew, which is why Dewey was completely rescued from a rusty fate and restored to perfect working order. sporting its weather-worn bodywork like a badge of honor and this is where the story gets interesting because at this point one would expect this special, unique and precious automobile to be preserved somewhere, perhaps in a museum, but the cars They are not built to be kept especially in museums. not four by four like this, they are built for travel and adventure so that's exactly what they did, they took Dewey on a really big adventure, it is truly one of the last unsportsy natural spaces in the world, this is a proper trip in in the harshest of environments.

I admire his confidence. Every once in a while we dream about these trips that are off the beaten path, so we thought about a little road trip for his birthday through the Gobi Desert. I mean, what could go wrong? Suddenly hearing the news that this brave little Land Rover wasn't going to be in a collection, but was actually going to drive thousands of miles across Mongolia to China. It was the best news to be honest, the plan was to take a convoy of vintage vehicles on an epic journey. Travel by land through some of the most inhospitable parts of the planet we started putting together a list of I don't want to use the word suitable because I think with the exception of the grenadiers we chose possibly some of the most inappropriate cars but that's part of Jeopardy part of the challenge starting in northern Mongolia the convoy would travel through the Gobi desert traversing thousands of miles through a real desert all Land Rover owners love road trips everyone loves a landing story and very few of them actually have the guts to do it, but here we were, we certainly did something that I don't think anyone has done before.

I doubt anyone will do it again. The new Grenadiers Ineos go anywhere, do anything, 4x4 would support the convoy of vintage vehicles in their daring attempt it's an amazing, amazing country, but super, super tough on cars, it's the toughest motorsport I've ever done anywhere. The grenadiers were the workhorses of the trip. They were there to carry all the kits, bags, food, tools, spare parts, which were loaded to the brim. and they had to work hard, they were lifesavers the fact that Joey said it, you know, it was style and grace, possibly, you just know it's absolutely magnificent.

The Jew was a star, absolutely incredible. I mean, I have to say I take my hat off to Dewey. Dewey was obviously determined to show us what she was made of because she really didn't put a foot wrong during the entire trip. I mean, it was flawless in the desert, really absolutely extraordinary and did everything it says on camera, you know, that little car. rolled across the terrain the undulations are beyond brutal you just shake the cars but Julie never missed a beat Dewey did absolutely everything we asked he was very well mannered the whole month in Mongolia he took it all in stride it's extraordinary for a car that It was built in 1948 and then left in the field for so long to rot.

They all led you. She loved it. She treated him with respect. She drove it carefully and she rewarded you. absolutely incredible, it's incredible, it goes through everything, doesn't it? Yeah, I mean, seeing Julia and the Grenadiers together was really sensational, seeing that you meet the first Land Rover and then you meet this new generation 4x4 that I think is the best 4x4. In the world, uh, it was just a sensational sight, really Boris, he became almost emotional when playing it. For three weeks, the convoy of vehicles traveled overland through mountains, plains, dunes and deserts in an off-road adventure worthy of the toughest 4x4 and a fitting tribute to a true automotive hero.

I have always invested so much time and energy into the jury that to be a part of something like this and have it be so successful is absolutely incredible. I'm very proud of the whole thing throughout the trip. I know you have completed those thousands of miles and written a new chapter in the history of this crucially important Land Rover. The timing of conversations due to the flow of DNA. The fact that the series won. The first Land Rover was built with a very clear purpose: to create a super-tough four-wheel drive vehicle that could go anywhere in the world and be sold anywhere in the world and grenadiers, the same has been built specifically to go to anywhere and sold anywhere.

I just think it's amazing that he did what he did. Testament to the quality of the original build is testament to Julian's restoration it is testament to Jim's approach to the entire project the entire trip epitomizes Jim's approach to business and life to the ineos approach they do things very differently Unfortunately, they prove to be very successful at that. a real feel good story and I think whatever the future holds for him now, I mean the world is his oyster story ends here but who knows what's next for Plucky Little Fall before and it's a story that people like This Grenadier continues to write that Spirit of Adventure always goes the extra mile to attempt the seemingly impossible.

It's quite a legacy. Mike, how long do we have this? You have it for the weekend. Did they do it for a week? Should you meet us? a little I think we will get along quite well thanks foreigner