Matthew Collins

It occurred to me that the modern-style number plates in the pop video may have been simply made for the pop video in order to make the car appear less “old-fashioned”. It simply doesn’t make sense that I should have bought the car within one year of the pop video and that it would have “suddenly” been fitted with the old-style number plates.

I provided very limited feedback this afternoon because I was at work. I bought this vehicle in 1984 and initially took it to the West Coast of Norway. I towed an original British Army trailer - with its unique coupling mechanism. I then relocated to Southern Spain. The vehicle had behaved splendidly up to this point and continued to do so for at least a couple of years. I remember numerous forays into the Spanish hinterland – the “campo”. Amazing off-road terrain. But then I experienced some technical problems. I was never very technically minded and the local Land Rover garage was unable to fix the problem, although they did try. I can only conclude that this vehicle had been fitted with the modern type of coloured number plates and that the original style black-and-white number plates had been reinstated by the guy I bought it from. Anyway, I hope the above conveys the idea that I’m not a heartless beast. I really loved that Champ and was gutted when it stopped working. But what could I do? I certainly didn’t have the financial wherewithal to have it shipped back to the UK. Matthew

And thanks to the other gentleman who wrote. It could be that the black and white plates were added AFTER the coloured plates. BTW, I bought this vehicle from Mike Stallwood at RR Motors in Kent.

Wow! Thanks for this. This has now become a real mystery because I took this vehicle down to Southern Spain in the 1980s where I lived for several years. Unfortunately, the vehicle died on me. I effectively abandoned it in Spain and thought that it had been towed away by the local authorities. But it could be that someone has “stolen” it and returned with it to the UK. Please see attached photo of the Champ in Spain with what I assume must be the original black-and-white number plates. What a mystery! Thanks again for the link. Matthew

Hi! I am a new member. I note that the link to the YouTube clip is no longer working. I owned this vehicle in the 1980s and would simply love to see it again. Would it be possible to reactivate the link? I look forward with interest to any feedback. 🙂 Matthew Collins