This Rare Range Rover Shooting Brake Is The Coolest Oddball

Sep. 13, 2021 7:13 AM ET by Michael Butler Auctions / 4 Comments

The ex-ambulance is for sale at Goodwood.

In the automotive world, there are few other body styles that get a car journalists' blood flowing quite like a shooting brake. This term was originally used to describe a horse-drawn wagon used to transport shooting parties on fox hunting trips, but was eventually adopted by the motoring world to loosely describe a sporty two-door wagon.

Shooting brakes tend to be exotic machines, so it comes as a massive surprise that this 1972 Range Rover Shooting Brake even exists. Land Rover is hard at work getting the new Range Rover ready for production, and judging by the spy pics, we highly doubt that it will feature the same body style, making this one of the rarest Landies you'll ever see.

We're no strangers to classic Range Rovers: these cars enjoy a long and rich history of off-roading adventure, and were actually pretty reliable and tough before mumble rappers and English soccer players started snapping them up. This 1972 example is a whole different kettle of fish, however. Originally built by Land Rover, only six long-wheelbase prototypes saw the light of day, one of which was used as a rolling data-gathering laboratory for its own use. This one was originally designed as an ambulance and served with the St. John Ambulance Service for 44 years before being converted into a shooting brake by Bishops 4x4 of Yaxley.

This machine's odd stepped rear window gives it a very unique side profile, and the bulged roof line hints at its medical past. This Range Rover has been featured in two magazines: Land Rover Enthusiast (December 2007) and Classic Land Rover Owner (Spring 2013), and is a unique part of the brand's history.

Bonhams expects this unique piece of British automotive history to reach between $110,838 and $166,257 when it goes on the auction block on September 18 at the Goodwood Revival festival. We're crossing our fingers that some wealthy US fan brings this thing stateside.