Classic Range Rover model designed by Harrods goes up for auction

This 1983 Harrods special edition Range Rover cost someone a staggering £33,000 when it was new, enough at the time to have bought you a fairly nice house.

Thought to be the only surviving right-hand drive model left, this special edition Range Rover was exclusively aimed at the well heeled of the Gordon Gecko era.

Most however found their way to the middle east.

The four-door Range Rover was first debuted in 1981 and was a change from the original three-door of 1979. It soon became the must have accessory for every yuppie across the land, and to have an exclusive even more luxurious edition was the aim of world famous London department store Harrods.

They went to exclusive coachbuilder Wood and Pickett who created the limited edition car.

Finished in Harrods green livery on the exterior with pinstripe side decals and mesh around the entire front grille and lights. The chunky alloy wheels are finished with the original period Goodrich off-road tyres with white lettering.

Inside the Harrods green theme continues with Recaro seating finished in green Connolly hide and white piping. The interior is broken up by luscious looking burr-walnut wood.

There is even a period colour Sony television set in the back, complete with Betamax video player.

This 1983 model has only covered 33,000 miles in its lifetime, having been mostly kept in private collections throughout its 34-year life. From 1998 to 2003 it was part of the British Motor Industry Trust collection.

Originally however it was delivered to its first owner in Berkshire and by 1996 when its second owner bought it, the car had covered just 19,087 miles.

The Range Rover will cross the Brooklands auction block, held in Ascot, on May 20 with an estimate of £29,000 to £37,000.

By Aidan Rennie-Jones