It seems to be Land Rover day today, so here’s one I snapped recently. Michael Freeman shared his life with a very similar rig a few months ago. Unlike his, this one’s a major showoff.
Michael’s was a sensible white with few if any visible attachments. This one’s quite attention getting.
It claims to be a “Special” V8i, what’s up with that? What year is this one by the way?
Is the hood just painted flat black, or is this a stone-resistant coating or what? Major pusher bars here.
Looks like a generic comfy SUV inside.
I’m not a Land Rover guy, some of you are genuine experts. Is this flashy rig parked outside a suburban high-tech office a fantasy poser? Or does it have the guts it claims? What’s your verdict?
The bullbar on the front is only the joke variety one solid roo hit and it would be mashed into the panelwork the midget step on the back is a serious impediment to any off road driving the approach and departure angles these cars have are one reason nothing other than a Defender is capable of following one off road. Looks good but some serious fab work is needed before Id go bush bashing with it.
That’s a 97′ XD copy. 250 were made for the American market to ride the wave of Camel Trophy fandom. These came from the factory like that in AA yellow with all the doodads. Funny though, the actual Camel Trophy rigs had a full internal cage, roof rack mounted through the roof to it, and a snorkel, plus they were painted in SandGlow not yellow. The black hood paint is to cut reflections from the overhead lights they were originally equipped with on a Safety Devices roof rack. But this truck is an SE7 with XD graphics. Hence the running boards, wheels, rear step, front bumper, etc. Also the hood should only be blacked out in the middle.
Yeah, that bull bar is crap. I still have a broken one in my side yard.
Amazing. You’re a fount of information. However, your LR Disco still looks better to me (I had a look again just now), Camel Trophy be damned. This a Mall Tractor.
Thanks, I agree!
Thought so!
Might be a 96, the wheels and seats are wrong for 97. Also I am not sure its an SE7, the SE7 had leather seats. IIRC the Camel Trophy trucks came with the steps and running boards, etc. They were really mall runners, just made for looks, but they did look cool. I had a 97 SD, I loved the Trophy truck look, always wanted the roof cage for mine!
Did SD come with seven seats and running boards though?
Not standard, but they could be added as an option in 97. But I am pretty sure only the SD has cloth seats in 94-96, the SE/SE7 had leather. In 97, the SD and SE7 both had leather standard. The one in the picture has cloth seats, and those wheels also look like 94-96 wheels, although all 5 should be painted black like the one on the back door, so they could have been swapped out.
I think you are right though, something looks off, I think it is a clone. Wonder how he got that yellow paint?
The step on the back folds up. The bars on the front are not “bullbars”. They’re brushguards. They’re not designed or intended to take impact at speed. They’re intended to push shrubbery out of the way at a walking pace.
I was going to post the same reply to Bryce further up. The other key to picking it as not a serious rig is the standard height & tyres.
Ouch. I explain all the add-ons in my main reply below, but this is a genuine XD, not a copy. The Camel Trophy trucks are impressive and were built for getting the snot beat out of them. The XDs were really based on the ’96 Trek XD trucks, and were a consumer version. Essentially they are an SD Disco with a few add-ons.
Below is a picture of one of the actual Trek XDs. They are very rare. Also, notice the “stock” height and tyres. The actual rigs usually did not have a lot of lift, and they did just fine on the trails.
You want serious? I photographed this search and rescue vehicle at Bonneville in 1999.
The owner/builder was from LA. would search junkyards for rolled Land Cruisers and pick them up for about $500. He would cut out the rumpled sheetmetal and build phony search and rescue vehicles from them.
The roll cage was fabricated from schedule 80 vinyl plumbing material. Very cool.
Sorry, the photo failed to upload. I’ve got more photos but this website will only allow me to upload one.
ROFL at the title: “Phoney-Bologne Search and Rescue”! He got the first part right. 😀
The blog software allows one photo and one link per comment without moderation. Please put them up on the Curbside Cohort! (Flickr link at the top)
Is something wonky w/ the suspension? It appears to be sagging a bit to the rear. This thing appears to be ‘riced’ for all the reasons M. Freeman just listed. Poor man’s Camel Series?
Mine sagged on the right as well.
Yes, the rear suspension needs replacing. It is a 16 year old truck, after all. I hope to put an Old Man Emu 2″ suspension on it soon!
And, yes, it is a poor man’s Camel Trophy truck. Those are super rare and very spendy! Mine cost me less than a month’s pay, and Dave Ramsey would approve. 🙂
The Land Rover dealership in Glen Cove, NY had one of these (assuming it was a real XD) posed out front for years and years… never knew if it was a factory model or some kinda advertisement for an accessory catalog.
Ha. I just saw one of these with OR plates at a rest area on I-5 between Seattle and Portland on Sunday. Maybe it was the same truck?
Wouldn’t have been mine, i know of at least one other in seattle, one in portland, and a genuine Trek Xd in the Seattle area as well.
A real XD is supposed to look like this:
The irony of this picture is that the rack is for a Discovery 2, not the low-profile SD rack that was only available for the XD from the factory. Also, there’s no brush guard on the front. So, that’s actually not what an XD is supposed to look like.
Below is a picture of a beautiful stock XD.
The lift, however, looks awesome! Is that your rig?
Is IS an XD dude. Two previous owners, one a Special Vehicles tech. It came as oyu see it WITH the rack on ( yes, the Safety Devices one). It did have the skid plate and it does have the brushguard ( off for repainting).
I have a 00′ DII with a nearly identical rack, from the factory.
Didn’t mean anything personal about your truck, and I believe that it’s a genuine XD. Actually quite a nice one, it looks great in that pic. Nice restore!
And that rack is a genuine Safety Devices rack, but its for a Disco 2. You can tell by the overhang on the back. It seems to be fairly common for the XDs to be missing their original low profile rack, as many disco fans want them for their rigs.
Look closely at where the last set of mounts attaches to the gutters on the attached pic, now compare to yours. The overhang is because the series 2 discos are about 4 inches longer. Also, notice how closely it hugs the roof line. All othe SD racks, whether for disco 1 or 2, sit higher to accommodate the roof bars and sunroofs. XDs had neither so the rack could be lower.
Not trying to slam your truck, I really do like it. My only point is that it’s not the original rack, just like mine is not the original rack (or hood, or wheels, or bumper…).
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Land-Rover-Discovery-XD-RUST-FREE-CALIFORNIA-1997-LAND-ROVER-DISCOVERY-I-RARE-XD-EDITION-W-SAFARI-/111134164292?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item19e01cc544&vxp=mtr#ht_6331wt_1064
Good luck with the sale. You getting out of rovers completely?
This is cracking me up! That’s my truck, sitting in the parking lot of my work. I randomly found this while searching for an image of an XD. I love the comments!
Long and short of it; it is a genuine 1997 Discovery XD. No faking here. I’m the 3rd owner, the original owner took the roof rack. ladder, skid plate, and seat covers with him. When I purchased it (about a year before these pictures were taken), my intention was to restore it to it’s original XD condition with the roof rack, ladder, tire cover, seat covers, skid plate, etc. About six months into owning it, I hit a deer on the freeway, messing up my front (original) brush guard and hood. As a temporary fix, I purchased a flat black hood and the pictured brush guard and bumper. The donor truck had a rear ladder, so I snagged that, too.
The wheels were balding so I found a used set of good tires with the silver rims. I still have the original black rims, and when the current tires need replacing, I’ll put them on the black rims to retain the original look. I’m also intending to add a 2″ lift.
I have since replaced the brush guard with a more stock Discovery guard, without the winch plate seen in the picture. I’ve sourced a rack (although not the low profile type the XD’s had originally, I hope to find that soon), as well as the XD seat and rear tire cover. The restoration is not complete, but it’s getting there.
I have a wife and four kids, my wife insisted on the running boards, and the rear step is for my kids to access the jump seats in the rear. I don’t do heavy off-roading, but I do enjoy exploring the Northwest back roads and camping. It’s not my daily driver, but I do love driving into work now and again. Although it’s been off the road for a few months as it needs a new transfer case (going to finally install it in two weeks!).
The “Special Vehicles” sticker found on the rear door is there because all of the 250 XDs were built by Land Rover’s Special Vehicles group, the same group that built the Camel Trophy trucks. The decals are from the factory as the “event decal” option. (Which, frankly, I love. XDs just don’t look right to me without the stickers!)
Mike, I’d love to take you for a ride sometime. Give me a few weeks to replace the transfer case and we can take a spin around your favorite mall parking lot! 😉
Cheers!
Joey
Small world! Your Disco is no mall tractor – that’s what crossovers are for.
I’m now the proud owner of Joey’s XD and that now makes 2 that I own. My first 97 XD still has the original roof rack and front skid plate. It wasn’t sold with the optional sticker however and I just have a black pinstripe down the side. She’s rusty, but very reliable and I wheel it every chance I get.
When I got Joey’s XD on 9-14-23 he had done so much to it since this sighting. I flew up to Portland, and swapped out a front drive shaft and drove his XD 2,174 miles home to TX sight unseen with zero issues. I’ve since tweaked a few things, and I’m making it into my Expedition XD setup while keeping my other XD setup for off road. I’ve swapped out the roof rack for a Front Runner, and installed an iKamper 3.0 RTT. It will be going on it’s first LR Event on 4-11-24 at SCARR.