Land Rover 109 Classic Cars for Sale

The Land Rover 109 is perhaps tbe best known of all Land Rover models. In production from 1948 until 1985, it was a basic, hard wearing vehicle that was aimed at the post world war II farming and working communities. Over time, it's development and synonism with British culture etched its place in the car world for almost 40 years.

A History of The Land Rover 109

The Land Rover 109 was first envisaged in 1947, following the aftermath of the second world war. The British public, and indeed fans around the world, were impressed with the allied ground battlefield fleet, and so an attempt was started to build a sturdy, affordable and physically impressive vehicle.

The first model was released in 1948, sporting a 1.6L petrol engine and a four speed manual gearbox borrowed from Rover. The inside of the vehicle was basic but functional, with utility rather than comfort being the focus. Over the first formative years, wheel bases were altered and changed to allow for both a SWB and LWB variant, and the interior became more comfortable to appeal to the general motoring public rather than just labourers.

In 1958, the series II model was released, with a beefed up 2.25L petrol engine and sleeker, more curved features. In 1961, the barely noticeable changes of the Series IIA featured a 2.5L diesel engine. Both variants also came in a LWB and SWB option and both a two door and four door variation. The Series IIA is possibly the most popular vintage edition of the Land Rover 109, despite it often being mistaken for a Series II.

The most commercially successful Land Rover 109 was the Series III, produced from 1971 to its eventual discontinuation in 1985. 440,000 units were sold in total, and the III solidified many gradual features that had been slipped in to earlier IIA series Land Rover 109 variants, such as headlight placement onto the wings, plastic grilles and higher engine compression. Higher gearbox, wheel hub and transmission power soon followed in the early 1980s. Despite high sales in the private and military fields, production ceased in 1985 and the Land Rover 109 was replaced by more economically viable vehicles.

Special Variants of the Land Rover 109

Arguably the most loved variants of the Land Rover 109 were the military models which were often bought by the public around the world after decommissioning, or were simply replicated by enthusiasts. Gun turrents and tank tracks are just some of the changes that have been featured, as well as long wheel base pickup truck variants. Additionally, mainly for military transportation, lighter frame models were produced for the Mark III Land Rover 109