BAOR ceremonial / security 88

The British Army of the Rhine kept a small number of specially prepared Land Rovers for parades, royal reviews and VIP security work in West Germany. The Dunsfold Collection's example (chassis 24433053D, registration 30 XC 27) was built in 1968 as an ordinary Bronze Green Series IIA 88 with the 2.25-litre petrol engine and 4-speed gearbox, and issued to BAOR. Army workshops in Germany subsequently modified at least three such vehicles for ceremonial purposes; this one was equipped to carry security personnel, fitted for radio, and painted black to a smart parade finish.

The conversions made resourceful use of the local economy: the distinctive hubcaps and mirrors that set the vehicles apart came from the Volkswagen Beetle, sourced from locally available car parts. The vehicles were used during visits by Her Majesty The Queen and the Queen Mother during the 1970s and 1980s, and led an otherwise gentle life — when the two ceremonial vehicles were finally demobbed in 1993 they had covered only around 4,000 kilometres apiece.

30 XC 27 is now preserved by the Dunsfold Collection in Surrey, which is the registry's reference for this record; the "BAOR ceremonial / security 88" recorded here, with its black finish, unusual hubcaps and mirrors and parade presentation, is modelled on it.