The British Motor Museum at Gaydon is a great place to visit at the best of times, but when it hosts its annual Land Rover show it just gets better. The roots of the Museum go all the way back to 1975 when Leyland Historic Vehicles was created to protect information and vehicles from across the group. In 1983, this venture became a charity, and the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust was formed. The collection was housed in a variety of locations until the early 90’s when the Gaydon site was acquired and the Museum first opened its door to the public. The museum was temporarily closed in 2015, when the Collections centre was built and reopened in 2016 in its current guise.

The actual museum is two separate buildings, the main building, which also hosts the gift shop and café, is where the vehicles are on display. There is also a mezzanine floor which at the time of my visit was home to a collection of Vauxhalls. The second building is the aforementioned collections building where some of the museum’s overflow is stored. The first floor of the centre hosts the Jaguar / Daimler Collect, while the upper floor has various vehicles from other British marques including Land Rover. Such is the size of the collection that even these two buildings are not sufficient to host everything. Other vehicles are stored in other locations or lent out to other museums including the Dunsfold Collection. You can browse all the vehicles online at https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/online-collections

The Land Rover show is held over 2 days at the beginning of May, with limited camping available for those displaying for the weekend. This year I decided to be a day visitor, so as the alarm woke me at 5.45am, I knew it was going to be a long day. I have attended the Gaydon show in some of my classic Land Rovers previously, however this year I was taking the L663. With fuel prices being what they are I chose the more economical Land Rover, however its all relative as that only gets 32 mpg on a good run!

Above – Based on the Defender Octa, The D7X-R is an impressive machine, and was first in class at the 2026 Dakar rally.

A couple of hours later, I arrived at the gates and was directed to the Land Rover parking. Getting out, my first stop was the toilet block and the café where a coffee and bacon butty were quickly devoured. I decided, firstly, to view the club and trade stands outside and headed straight to the Land Rover Works stand to see the vehicle that was the main reason for my Visit. The Defender D7X-R from the Dakar rally, proudly showing off its multiple battle scars from its rally debut where it came in 1^st, 2^nd and 4^th in class. Not a bad first time out indeed. The L663 Defender 110 is a large vehicle in its own right, but with a wider & taller stance the D7X-R is even more imposing. The vehicle has a purposeful stance and, in my mind, looked incredible with its 35” wheels / tyres. I wasn’t disappointed when I saw it. Next to it was a Defender Trophy Edition, advertising the forthcoming Defender Trophy competition, that we covered in a previous issue of this e-Zine. Land Rover also had a couple of their V8 rebuilds on show, the Trophy and the Islay with the Islay being parked next to the vehicle that inspired it, Spencer Wilks own Series 2a.

Land Rover Experience were also there and had brought their mobile obstacle course. People could queue up to be driven around the course, in one of several Defender 110’s, which featured a side slope, a steep climb and wheel articulation ramps. This was a popular stand as there always seemed to be a queue of people eagerly awaiting a turn.

Above – Land Rover Experience were on hand to offer demonstration drives around their mobile obstacle course.

Next, I wondered over to the 1-Ton stand, which had quite an impressive selection of vehicles including Camel Trophy winner Bob Ives own 1 ton and also a recently restored Series 3 example. There were a couple of Range Rover club stands, one of which had not one, but two Pre-Production Velars on display – YVB155H and YVB175H. There was also a selection of more modern vehicles, and it was the first time I had seen a number of Evoque’s on display. The Series clubs had a great selection of Series 1 and Series 2 / 2a on display too. The G4 Land Rover club always have a decent selection of vehicles, including both a Freelander 1 and 2. Talking of Freelander’s, there was a stand from the Freelander’s Owners Club parked over in the corner. The Gaydon show also allows individuals to show off their vehicles with the Land Rover only parking and a stroll around saw a brace of 50^th Anniversary Defenders all group together.

Below – The Defender 50th Anniversary’s take center stage

The museum had taken a few of its exhibits and put them on display outside. It is always nicer to see the vehicles outside rather than under the lights of the museum. This year we had a nice selection including one of the Darrian Gap Range Rovers, a Tomb Raider Defender (which you can read about in this issue), A Camel Discovery and the Shaun the Sheep Series 1 & 2 cross. Pre-Production Land Rover number 1, HUE166, also made a rare appearance outside too!

Inside the main museum there were still other Land Rovers to see. As you walk around the corner to where the Land Rovers are displayed you are greeted by a 101 Forward Control, with a rare Ruby Owen powered trailer. These effectively gave the 101 a 6×6 capability however they never really went into active service. Behind this is a Series 2a 109” with a Cuthbertson conversion. If you have ever stood next to one you will know just how tall they are. Getting in an out must be a real challenge. Gaydon also hosts what I think is probably the nicest Series 1 Tickford in existence. Regular readers of the e-Zine will know I have a soft spot for these little Land Rovers, and I think they are one of the best-looking Land Rovers ever made.

Above – The Range Stormer was Land Rover’s first ever true concept vehicle and lead the way to the Range Rover Sport

One of the more interesting vehicles that is currently on display is the Range Stormer concept vehicle. This was the first concept vehicle Land Rover ever made. Sure, there were prototypes and concepts based on production vehicles, but they had never undertaken a true concept vehicle before. Based on the then current P38a Ranger Rover, the Range Stormer was a two-door vehicle that was the basis of the forth coming Range Rover sport.

If you remember the 1995 movie, Judge Dredd, then the next Land Rover will be familiar to you. Its 2099 and the only vehicle that is tough enough to survive is the Land Rover. The futuristic design was inspired by an American football helmet and was made out of large GRP moldings. Under the body lies something a little older. The 101 Forward Control, no less. For the movie a number were purchased by Land Rover and converted for the film. After filming some where returned back to 101’s and some were left as is. One was even made road legal for the premier and others have since been made road legal by others.

Below – The Judge Dredd Taxi was actually a 101 Forward Control!

After a swift sausage roll and can of lemonade later, I decided to head over to the collection centre. The vehicles are quite tightly packed in which does make getting a good view sometimes difficult, but there are some hidden gems in there. One of these is a one-off Prototype Forward Control called Buttercup. This was used as a works vehicle for many years before being retired and joining the collection. Another hidden gem is the Range Rover SV Coupe. This was to be a two door L405 Range Rover powered by the same 575 bhp V8 engine as the Range Rover Sport SVR, however after opening the order books Land Rover shelved the project and only 1 or 2 were made.

Above – The Range Rover SV Coupe was to be a 2-Door L405 with V8 supercharged power, but it never made production.

Below – A Selection of State Review vehicles could be found in the Collections Centre

Some new vehicles that I had not seen before had been added since my last visit 12 months previous, all with a royal connection. Prince Phillips Series 2a Station Wagon was there along with a trio of State Review Range Rovers, based on the Classic, P38a and the L322.

After 5 hours of walking around, seeing everything to see and chatting to many old friends and acquaintances it was time to jump back in the Defender for the 155 miles journey home. Those 5 hours had just flown by, and I had a thoroughly enjoyable day. Next May, if you are at a loose end, maybe a visit here to see the show could be the answer.