Land Rover Defender built for Prince Philip sells for record £123,750
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A Land Rover Defender built to an exacting specification requested by The Duke of Edinburgh has sold at auction for a world record £123,750.
When the hammer fell on Saturday, the bidding had easily eclipsed the £50,000 to £70,000 target price for the 2010 4X4 model owned by Prince Philip for the first time.
The staggering sale of the Keswick Green Defender will come as a major shock – and likely a major blow – to the previous owner who sold the car to the seller last year for just £44,000.
It means that the seller has almost doubled his money and made a nice profit of £79,750 in less than a year. That’s not a bad little earner considering they only bought the vehicle last summer.
Turned for profit: This Land Rover Defender 110, first owned by Prince Philip, has sold for a world record £123,750. The seller only bought it in June 2022 and paid just £44,000 for it
The Land Rover Defender was delivered to the Duke of Edinburgh in 2010. Prince Philip, who died in 2021, is pictured here in June 2010 while visiting Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada
The specially commissioned Land Rover was last sold on June 17, 2022 via online auction site Collecting Cars.
There was then 15,459 miles on the clock.
On Saturday he had just 264 miles on the clock, with the final keeper using him sparingly during their brief possession.
And it has turned out to be a very good investment.
The weekend’s sale price of £123,750 is not only the highest amount paid for a Defender 110 at a live auction, it’s the first to cross the £100,000 ceiling, the auction house said.
This also means that it provided the seller with a financial return of 181 percent in just eight months.
The seller – who reportedly “enjoys a substantial private collection of special purpose motor vehicles” – bought the car from the previous owner, the son of the late Queen’s driver, David Key.
They had been the Custodian for 11 years after acquiring it themselves from The Duke of Edinburgh.
That same Land Rover changed hands last summer in an online auction by Collecting Cars for £44,000. It means the seller has made almost £80,000 profit in just 8 months
The seller has pocketed a handsome profit of £79,750 in less than a year, having only owned the vehicle since the summer
Under the hood is a barely used 2.4-liter four-cylinder turbo diesel engine, producing around 120 horsepower
With only 15,623 miles on the clock, the seller has only put 164 miles on the clock during their 8 month ownership. It was clearly a vehicle bought for investment purposes only
Under the hood is a 2.4-liter four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine, good for about 120 hp. It is mated to a six-speed manual transmission that sends power to all four wheels.
Finished with a black cloth interior with Land Rover seat covers, the Defender was specified with heated seats, air conditioning, heated front and rear windows and alloy wheels. The original spare wheel attached to the boot lid remains unused.
Ahead of Saturday’s sales event, Silverstone Auctions had said: ‘Simply put, this Defender has to be seen in person to really appreciate it.
‘With an enviable combination of Royal provenance, individual specification, low mileage and fantastic condition, this looks to tick all the boxes for any serious collector of major British vehicles.’
The sale price of £123,750 is not only the highest amount paid for a Defender 110 at a live auction, it is the first to cross the £100,000 cap, according to the auction house
Inside, the Defender is finished with a black fabric interior with Land Rover seat covers
The modern Defender is packed with features: heated seats, air conditioning, heated front and rear windows and alloy wheels
The Defender was one of many collectible motorcycles to achieve world record sales prices at the Silverstone Auctions Race Retro Classic sale held this weekend at Stoneleigh Park, near Coventry.
The standout sale was a 1987 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500, which surpassed the previous record price paid for one of the rare Fast Fords by as much as four times.
Rob Hubbard, Sales Director of Silverstone Auctions, commented: ‘The team presented a wonderful catalog of collector cars, which achieved some fantastic results and set world records through global advertising.
“Bidders joined us remotely from 12 countries, including Singapore, Dubai and Switzerland.
“Our successes with ‘Performance Fords’ and cars of royal provenance solidly reinforce our ownership of these market sectors and show that there is no better way to sell your car than in a physical auction with the UK Market Leading auction house.”
The seller – who reportedly “enjoys a substantial private collection of special motor vehicles” – bought the car from the previous owner – the son of the late Queen’s driver, David Key
Included with the sale was a history file of letters between George Hassall, Director of Royal and Diplomatic Affairs at JLR, to David Key, Chief Chauffeur to the Duke of Edinburgh
Philip, who died in April 2021, had a strong bond with Land Rover. He also designed his own specially adapted Defender to carry his coffin
The defender, reportedly in ‘shining condition’, had previously been given the Duke’s personal registration number ‘OXR 2’.
Accompanying the sale was a history file containing letters between George Hassall, Jaguar Land Rover’s Director of Royal and Diplomatic Affairs, to David Key, Chief Chauffeur to the Duke of Edinburgh.
Other royal cars up for auction include a 2013 Bentley Mulsanne used for royal household duties, earning £81,100.
A 1942 Ford GPW Jeep used by King George VI on a wartime visit to RAF Chelveston that same year was also successfully sold as the hammer fell to £38,850.
Philip, who died in April 2021, had a strong bond with Land Rover. He also designed his own specially adapted Defender to carry his coffin.
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