Offered from the estate of the late Peter Stevens
1955 Land Rover Series I 86" Tempo 4x4 Project

• Ordered by the West German Federal Border Guard
• Built under license in Germany
• One civilian owner for 42 years
• Acquired by Peter Stevens in 2018
• Offered as an unfinished restoration project

This vehicle is an original BGS (Bundesgrenshutz – Federal Border Guard) Land Rover Tempo, originally deployed along the West/East German border during the Cold War years. The BGS ordered 250 of these special Land Rovers, which were built under license by the Tempo company of Bostelbek. Between April and August 1953 an initial batch of 100 was built using rolling chassis supplied by Land Rover, which were completed with special bodywork to BGS specification, although the standard bonnet, bulkhead and front grille were retained. Tempo subsequently built another 150 vehicles, and some of these special Land Rovers would be sold to private owners. The accompanying BMIHT certificate records this Land Rover's destination dealer as 'Vidal' in Germany.

This Tempo was subsequently sold off for civilian use, passing to a lumberjack in Bayern, southern Germany, who kept it for 42 years. The vehicle was then acquired, as a restoration project, by Land Rover collector Paolo Turinetti, whose article about the Tempo in Legend magazine's February 2017 edition is on file. The Land Rover looked complete when acquired, although the Series I front wing was identified as non-original. Mr Turinetti accumulated a substantial quantity of spare parts to assist with the restoration, some very rare and expensive, and got the engine running. The Tempo was displayed on the LRRSI (Historic Italian Land Rover Register) stand at the Turin Automotoretro; subsequently offered for sale as an unfinished project, it was purchased by Peter Stevens in 2018 for £13,000.

Works undertaken and parts purchased by Peter are detailed in invoices of file, which include a 2020 bill for £5,000 relating to a chassis build up to rolling state by Bodyline (Steve Lawrence) of Selsey, West Sussex. The engine and carburettor have been rebuilt and a new bulkhead purchased from Dunsfold DLR (£1,800). The radiator too is new (£360).

Accompanying paperwork includes NOVA documentation; an old German title; and the aforementioned magazine article and BMIHT certificate. An exciting opportunity to acquire an exceedingly rare and collectible Land Rover variant, with much of the restoration work already done.