It's a sunny December 12th 2019, when Belgian Land Rover enthusiasts bid a warm welcome to the Last Overland team and their iconic Land Rover Series I SNX891 at the Brussels Cinquantenaire Monument.
Last Overland recreated the original 1955 First Overland trip in homeward direction. SNX891 is most likely the only remaining example of the two original Series 1 Land Rovers that took the crew to the far East in the fifties, although the remains of the other Land Rover are rumoured to have been located.
The event saw a high afficionado level, with some rare Defender variants visiting the paddock between the museums: a Fiennes Expedition 110 Wolf, a 50th V8 and the oldest driveable Land Rover in Belgium, which dates from 1948 and is the 59th Land Rover built, and an 86" and 107" Series I from the owner of SNX891.
The new Defender was also joining the party in the shape of the EV-hybrid prototype, as sharp a contrast as can possibly be with the seasoned and weathered SNX891. The press reveal aside, this was the first time the new Defender was to be seen in Belgium. Being a prototype and promotional vehicle which is probably rarely driven, one cannot fault it to have needed a jump start from a Tdi Defender. Nevertheless, it struck as irony.
© 2021 A I R N E S S - Joris De Roeck
