1957 Land Rover Series I 107-inch Station Wagon
- Engine
- 2.0L inline four-cylinder petrol
- Colour
- Sand Beige
A 1957 Land Rover Series I 107-inch Station Wagon, chassis completed at Solihull on 2 May 1957 and coach-finished by Pilchers of Wimbledon, this vehicle — known as 'The Grizzly Torque' — carried Canadian artist Robert Bateman and biologist Bristol Foster on a 60,000-kilometre circumnavigation from July 1957 to September 1958, spanning Africa, Asia, and Australia. Lost for decades, it was rediscovered derelict in British Columbia in 2008 and subsequently restored to original 1957 specification at a cost of approximately CAD $300,000, later serving as the centrepiece of Land Rover's 70th Anniversary celebrations in Canada.
Ownership
- —Auction saleSold US$123,200
- 1957-05-01 →Factory deliveryRobert Bateman and Bristol Fosterfull documentation
Vehicle was specially ordered and built to custom specifications, then used for a circumglobal overland journey of roughly 60,000 km between mid-1957 and late 1958.
- 1958 →Acquisition unknownBristol Fosterpartial documentation
Foster retained the vehicle for personal use in Canada for an unspecified number of years after the expedition concluded before selling it on.
- 2008 → 2014Acquisition unknownAlan Simpsonpartial documentation
Marque specialist based in Clapperton, British Columbia, who rediscovered the vehicle in derelict condition; identity was confirmed by Foster and Land Rover by late 2014.
- 2014 →Private saleCurrent consignorfull documentation
Organised a specialist restoration consortium led by Simpson, investing approximately two years and $300,000 to return the vehicle to its original 1957 configuration; subsequently lent it for Land Rover's Canadian 70th Anniversary celebrations.
- Date unknownPrivate saleTexas-bound graduate studentpartial documentation
Acquired from Foster; subsequently sold the vehicle to a rancher in British Columbia.
- Date unknownPrivate saleRancher in British Columbiapartial documentation
The car languished unrecognised for many years, eventually becoming a derelict project vehicle repainted blue before rediscovery.
Competition
No competition history extracted from the catalogue.
Maintenance & restoration
- 1957ModificationPilchers of Wimbledon
Following chassis completion at Solihull, the vehicle was forwarded to Pilchers of Wimbledon, who installed bespoke aluminium bodywork, green leather interior, an observation hatch, sleeping bunks, an external sun visor, a capstan winch, crank windows, and Sand Beige paintwork.
This was the original custom outfitting carried out prior to the world journey.
- —RestorationAlan Simpson and consortium of marque specialists
A comprehensive, accuracy-driven restoration to the vehicle's original 1957 configuration was undertaken following its rediscovery. Period photographs supplied by Foster guided the work, and Bateman personally recreated the hand-painted country vignettes on the bodywork. The project took approximately two years and cost around $300,000.
Restoration was commissioned by the consignor and completed sometime after the identity confirmation in December 2014. The finished vehicle was subsequently used as the headline exhibit in Land Rover's 70th Anniversary programme across Canada.
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