A Land Rover Defender once owned by the late Duke of Edinburgh has sold at auction for a record sum for the vehicle type of £123,750, netting its owner more than double the amount they paid for it last year.
The seller bought the 4X4 for £44,000 in June 2022 from the son of David Key, Prince Philip’s former chauffeur.
Painted in a Keswick Green, the Defender was commissioned by the duke and built to his individual specification. Accompanying the car was a file containing correspondence between Jaguar Land Rover and David Key.
The duke, who died aged 99 in 2021, held a fond affection for Land Rovers and granted the brand a Royal Warrant more than 40 years ago. At his funeral service, his body was carried atop a modified Defender he commissioned and helped design.
Ahead of the hammer falling, Silverstone Auctions said that the vehicle boasted an “enviable combination of Royal provenance, an individual specification, low mileage and fantastic condition” that ticked all the boxes for any “serious collector of significant British vehicles”.
