Between December 1971 and June 1972, two specially equipped Range Rovers completed an expedition from Anchorage in Alaska to Cape Horn in South America, passing through the treacherous Darien Gap on the border of Panama and Columbia.

The Darien Gap occupied a mere 100 miles of the total 17,084 distance from Anchorage to the Cape but it took four of the seven months to cross it. The area still has no roads or bridges to be able to cross it.

The Range Rovers that completed the original expedition were standard, but fitted with special equipment such as swamp tyres, petrol tank guards, snorkel exhaust pipe extensions, Fairey winches and roll-over bars. Both vehicles are in the Museum’s collection, one of which is on display in the Land Rover zone.

This standard Range Rover from 2015 was modified to be able to take on the Darien Gap once again, but the plan by Jaguar Land Rover never came to fruition. The vehicle comes with a winch, a protected undercarriage and a Mantec roof-rack.

On loan to Dunsfold Collection