Nearly 77 years after its creation, Land Rover Series I chassis R-860756 has found a new home. It was sold as part of RM Sotheby’s second annual summer sale at Cliveden House auto auction on July 8 for £57,500 (USD$77,183.11).

R-860756 was the sixth Land Rover ever produced for the British military, being part of a 20-car set that rolled out of the Land Rover factory in Solihull on December 16, 1948. The Solihull plant had been built by the British government as a shadow factory during World War II before being turned over to the Land Rover’s eventual developer Rover Company at war’s end.

The Ministry of Supply, who saw wartime procurement, received the batch of Rovers. R-860756’s specific responsibilities are unknown, though RM Sotheby’s noted two red wings were once painted to designate bomb disposal vehicles under Air Ministry Order A32/54 (issued February 18, 1954); during the Second World War, such vehicles were marked by having their wheel arches painted red. The sideplate engine was also replaced by a core plug unit in 1949. It continued to serve through 1961 when it was put in storage at Ruddington Ordnance & Supply Depot, a former Royal Ordnance Factory storage hub that was converted into a military vehicle auction house after the Second World War.

The Rover was auctioned into the civilian world in July 1962. Another sale took place in 1977 before being acquired by the vendor in 1985, who kept it until the Cliveden House event. Said owner restored the car in 2014 and 2015, which included repairing the space for the passenger’s feet and a fresh coat of paint.

Otherwise, the Rover still is still much like it was in 1948 down to the wheels and 80-inch chassis. The Series I also featured a 1.6-liter straight-four engine capable of 50 bhp, a four-speed manual transmission, and an 80-inch wheelbase.

Over the next seven decades, the other 19 Land Rovers were destroyed or have unknown fates, with R-860756 being the only known survivor.

“Since its most recent restoration, the Land Rover has received many deserved awards and its factory-correct specification has been remarked upon by several leading restorers and marque authorities,” reads RM Sotheby’s auction page. “This is an extremely rare opportunity to own not just a highly sought after ‘pre-1500’ Series I, but a vehicle with an unprecedented history that helped begin the military’s long-standing relationship with Land Rover.”

It wasn’t the only Land Rover sold at Cliveden House as a custom 2017 Range Rover went for £75,900. The 2017 version was developed by Chieftain with a 1993 Ranger Rover body built atop a 2004 Land Rover Discovery 3, along with a 6.2-liter V8 from General Motors.

Featured image credit: Neil Fraser / RM Sotheby’s