Azernews.Az

by Alimat Aliyeva

An extremely unusual Land Rover has appeared for sale on eBay. While it may look like a classic British off-roader at first glance, there is much more going on underneath. The project combines the body of a Land Rover Series III with a heavily modified and shortened chassis based on a 1968 Volkswagen Beetle.

The result is a bizarre but fascinating custom car called Slamd-Rover — a machine that takes the classic Land Rover concept and turns it completely upside down.

The current owner bought the unfinished project in 2020 and completed it with the help of British workshops Dropworks Customs and Lowdown Transporters. A 1968 Beetle was used as the donor car, although only a small number of its original components remain.

The chassis was shortened, while the suspension was replaced with an adjustable air suspension system operated by remote control. Each wheel can be adjusted independently, allowing the entire body to drop almost all the way down to the road surface.

Naturally, this means the Slamd-Rover has virtually no off-road ability. In fact, a normal speed bump could be a serious challenge for this extremely low machine. But while it may be useless on a muddy trail, it is almost guaranteed to attract attention wherever it goes.

The car rides on 17-inch Porsche alloy wheels, with an additional matching wheel mounted on the hood. The Land Rover Series III body has been finished in a distinctive matte green color.

The beige roof comes from the rare Safari version and has been chopped to make the vehicle even lower. Most of the windows have also been removed, leaving the characteristic split windshield and the small upper windows in the roof.

Power comes from a 1.6-liter air-cooled boxer engine taken from a Volkswagen Type 2 Bus. The engine has been upgraded with twin carburetors, 3D-printed intake manifolds and a custom exhaust system with twin headers.

Inside, the unconventional theme continues. The cabin features a custom-built bench seat, a wooden steering wheel, three gauges and a high-mounted gear lever.

According to the seller, the Slamd-Rover is “the perfect car to infuriate the army of Land Rover purists.” The owner also says that one of the best parts of driving it is watching the reactions of people who see it on the street.

There is also an amusing irony behind the project: the original Land Rover Series III was designed to conquer difficult terrain, while this particular example has been modified so extensively that it may struggle with something as simple as a speed bump.

Despite that, the Slamd-Rover is clearly not meant to be a practical off-roader. It is a rolling piece of automotive madness, built primarily to stand out, start conversations and turn heads at car shows.

The seller is asking £15,000 (around $20,000) for this one-of-a-kind creation. For someone looking for a conventional Land Rover, it makes little sense. For a collector who wants one of the strangest British-American-German automotive hybrids ever built, however, it could be exactly the right car.