Winston Churchill’s 1954 Land Rover fetches £129k at auction

A Land Rover built for Winston Churchill on his 80th birthday has been sold at an auction in Cambridgeshire for 129,000 pounds – more than twice its estimated price.

The vehicle, which had been modified to enable him to be chauffeur-driven around his Chartwell estate in Kent, was expected to fetch up to 60,000 pounds, the BBC reported.

It was sold with the original logbook registering it to Churchill to a bidder who wished to remain anonymous. The previous owner had kept it in a shed in Kent since 1977.

The 1954 Series 1 Land Rover was registered as UKE 80 in the name of the “Rt Hon Sir Winston Spencer Churchill KG. OM. CH. MP. Chartwell, Westerham, Kent.”

It was especially modified for him with an extra-wide passenger seat and heated footwell. Cheffins auctioneers said the vehicle, which had 12,932 miles (20,812km) on the clock, was the most expensive item in its auction of more than 2,000 vintage vehicles.

The UKE 80 Number Plate was valued at £3000 by Des Elton Director, Speedyreg, however he doesn’t think it will be on the market anytime soon as removing the registration would certainly devalue the Land Rover.

Do you know the new owner?