Range Rover ‘Harrods Edition’ – which cost more than a HOUSE in 1983 – sells for £36,000

1983 Range Rover ‘Harrods Edition’, by Wood & Pickett looks very ‘Period’

A Range Rover ‘Harrods Edition’, created by Wood & Pickett in 1983, has sold for £36,000 at Historics auction, almost what it cost when new.

The Range Rover arrived in 1970 as probably the first SUV modern buyers would recognise as a real premium SUV, but only as a two-door model.

It took more than a decade for Land Rover to give the Range Rover four doors, and such was the cachet of having a four-door Range Rover, to those who care about such things, that Harrods decided they needed a special edition for their customers.

So they commissioned Wood & Pickett – probably best remembered for their luxury take on the Mini – to build the Range Rover Harrods Edition, complete with what was, at the time, cutting edge luxuries and stand-out styling. Although even looking at it now, with eyes that were around in the 1980s, it’s a bit over the top.

1983 Range Rover ‘Harrods Edition’, by Wood & Pickett gets a suitably flash interior

But it wasn’t just the styling that was a bit OTT, so was the price.

At the time (1983) the average house price in the UK was around £28,000, but the Harrods Edition Range Rover cost a thumping £38,525 (£33,500 + vat), making it a truly expensive car.

Fast forward 34 years, and one of the few Harrods Edition Rangies which stayed in the UK (most went to the Middle East), has just sold for £36,000 at the Historics sale today, which means it’s hung on to its original value, although if it had kept up with house inflation it would now be worth £235,000.

What you got – and what the new owner of this very individual Range Rover gets – is a Range Rover in Harrods Green with a slatted grille that seems to run right round the car, a tan everflex roof with glass sunroof, Wolfrace wheels, Connolly leather, burr walnut, Sony TV and a Betamax video. 

Previously owned by, amongst others, the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust in Gaydon, the Range Rover has done just 33,000 miles from new and looks likely to appreciate rather more strongly in the coming years, especially now Land Rover are recreating the Classic Range Rover and raising its profile.