Lot Ended
Description
1952 Land Rover Series 1 Minerva
Still fitted
with original two-litre petrol engine; left hand drive; UK registered; runs and
drives but brakes need attention
Belgian manufacturer Minerva,
perhaps best known for their exotic luxury sleeve-valve limousines of the late
'20s and early '30s pitched for the contract to supply the Belgian Military with
small 4x4 vehicles after WW2. Up against the likes of Jeep and Ford, they
won the contract offering their own version of the trusty Series 1 Land Rover,
built under licence from Rover and using a lot of local
content.
Production started in 1951, Rover supplying full technical
assistance and CKD kits consisting of the chassis, engines and transmissions,
Minerva themselves making the bodywork in steel in accordance with the army
requirements.
Minerva and Rover had parted their separate
ways by 1956, Minerva going to the wall in 1958 after several attempts to
make civilian versions. The Belgian Army bought loads of them, many of which
were mothballed until well into the 1980s when they were released for
public consumption.
This 1952 version comes with documentation from
1997 onwards, when it was regularly used and cared for according to a
hand-written book. By 1997 it had an indicated 56,200kms on the clock and was
acquired for 100,000 Belgian Francs - a bit over £5,000 at the time.
It
was frequently serviced until around 2008 after which it disappeared from view
until it was acquired by our vendor and UK registered SXS 363 in July
2022.
In very sound order both in the chassis and body departments, the
paintwork is probably best described as shabby chic and it retains such niceties
as the bakelite horn switch on the steering column and correct Marchal
headlights. It has clearly been well looked after under the bonnet and brakes
aside, could be road ready with relative ease.
A quirky Series Land
Rover alternative, it offers exactly the same experience at significantly less
cost....
It comes with a parts book and tech manual (in French) and some
Dutch papers.
Contact- toby.service@brightwells.com
* All charges are subject to VAT