Cleaning Up An Old Range Rover To Be Able To Drive In A ULEZ City
Images: Kingsley Cars
Proving that it’s not just the boffins at Range Rover who are conscious of becoming compliant with Ultra Low Emission Zone cities and their requirements, UK-based Range Rover specialist and restorer Kingsley Cars has launched its ULEZ Reborn Range Rover series.
Retaining the design and charm of a Range Rover Classic, the British team has completely re-engineered a ULEZ compliant model.
It has upgraded the engine to either a 4.0- or an optional 4.6-litre V8 with a modern ZF automatic gearbox and given it a driver-focused, technology-oriented facelift to ensure its city-dwelling owners can commute and beat the ULEZ in style, with prices starting from £125,000 (Rs 1.25 crores).
Available as a two- or four-door, each ULEZ Reborn Range Rover Classic by Kingsley Cars has been re-engineered with long-distance driving in mind.
Starting from the beginning, each ULEZ compliant (pre-1981, thus classified as a historical status vehicle) Range Rover Classic is stripped down to a bare shell, engineered and future proofed to remove any opportunity of rust getting into the metal.
It is repaired when needed, seamlessly welded, protected with seam sealer and a rubberised coating and then finished with high quality paints, with a three-year guarantee against corrosion.
Kingsley Cars ULEZ Reborn Range Rover Classics feature either a re-engineered 4.0-litre fuel injected 220bhp V8 engine as standard or an optional 4.6-litre fuel injected 270bhp V8. Both are fitted with an uprated ZF 4HP22 automatic gearbox and a fully rebuilt Borg Warner transfer box to maintain reliability. These configurations are claimed to return up to around 8-10 km/litre.
The attention-to-detail doesn’t just stop there. Having restored over 400 Range Rover Classics and delivered tens of Kingsley Cars Reborn Range Rover models, the team at the restoration outfit also add a special Kingsley Fast Road Suspension Kit with uprated anti-roll bars, useful for speed humps as well as countryside road trips, as well as its Kingsley Big Brake Kit (with six-pot billet front and four-pot billet rear calipers and larger discs). Other cost options include forged aluminium wheels that are available to assist with unsprung mass and strengthened rigidity over potholes, too.
Optional features can include front and rear sensors with a reversing camera, switchable and variable assistance electric power steering, LED headlamps with washers, Kingsley JL Audio 700w seven speaker system with DAB, as well as rear iPad entertainment integration for passengers. Apple CarPlay integration is also available on the options list, alongside wireless smartphone charging neatly configured in the cabin, and ambient lighting.
The interior is as special as the exterior, with seats that are heated as standard; the rear seats feature two headrests and three armrests. It is possible to get them trimmed in a range of tweed fabrics and leathers, as well as colour-matched seatbelts.
All windows are electric, alongside adjustable electric mirrors, and sound deadening has been added to the shell including the doors and panels.
Kingsley Cars, founded by Damon Oorloff in 2001, is based near Eynsham in Oxfordshire, and is a family-run business. It is also recognised as a leading specialist in classic Range Rovers and Land Rovers. Kingsley Cars also has a substantial parts and remanufacturing department where the team can produce period interiors, carpets and roof linings alongside leather interior applications.
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