The Land Rover that featured in the popular ITV detective drama Vera has gone on display at the Great British Car Journey museum, in Ambergate, Derbyshire. BBC News reports that the blue Defender 90 was the star Brenda Blethyn’s vehicle, and was on screen in almost every episode of the long-running series.
The 5ft 2in actress played the title role of Det Ch Insp Vera Stanhope, and the vehicle had to be fitted with a hidden step to enable her to get in and out easily.
The earliest version of the Land Rover Defender 90 was first launched in 1984, apparently taking its name from the size of the wheel base. It has just two side doors and is still recognisable as the farm utility vehicle that it was widely used for, rather than the ultra sized luxury SUVs of today.
However, it has a powerful four cylinder engine ranging up to 518 HP, and is well up to off-road handling. Over the years, the series was fine-tuned to include plusher interiors, and a turbo-diesel engine was launched in 1986.
The availability of 4×4 vehicles spare parts online means that it is more possible for older models of Land Rovers to be kept in roadworthy condition or restored. There is a huge demand for the vintage vehicles, which first rolled off the production line back in 1948.
The original designer could surely not have foreseen how popular the all-purpose vehicle would become, or how it would evolve into the high performance status symbol car that it is today.
The Defender 90 vehicle is one of the most loved of the whole Land Rover series, and the display of the Vera Defender has created a great deal of public interest. Of course, it’s not the only famous on-screen Land Rover, as over the years the iconic vehicles have featured in several Bond films, Tomb Raider, Get Carter, The Italian Job, and more.
Richard Usher, founder of Great British Car Journey, told the BBC: “This car was almost as big a star as Brenda herself – it featured in pretty much every episode. To Land Rover enthusiasts, which there are many, this is the holy grail of television Land Rovers.”
He added: “Probably its little guilty secret is it has an automatic gearbox. From what I understand, Brenda only has a licence for an automatic car. When it was decided they were going to use the Land Rover, they had to get an auto box fitted to this. She does pretend to change gear – she sort of fakes it on TV.”
About two million Land Rovers were produced during the past 50 years, with many models now collector’s items that change hands for hundreds of thousands of pounds.
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