Miguel Sánchez
During the 80s and 90s there was a very recurrent urban legend in Madrid. This said that, more than one night, some other driver stopped on the road due to a mishap had received the assistance of a mysterious motorist. The anecdote was always located on small roads near the mountains where the Palacio de la Zarzuela is located. According to the story, when the motorcyclist had already offered his help, he took off his helmet. And there was the surprise: neither more nor less than Juan Carlos I.
As with all urban legends, the credibility of this one must also be called into question. Although knowing the king emeritus' taste for the engine ... We cannot believe that more than one night he went out to ride one of his motorcycles on one of the lonely and winding roads that cross El Pardo or Casa de Campo. Nor is it surprising that he stopped to help some other driver thrown in the ditch due to mechanical problems. Who knows…
However, there are two things about which we have no doubts. The first is that Juan Carlos I's taste for cars and motorcycles is true: there are many vehicles made on a whim that have passed through the Zarzuela garage. The second is that, In the bubbling classic market, Range Rover Classics are rapidly appreciating. Knowing these data ... No wonder these two blue-blooded Range Rovers have been around the $90.000 each in its sale.
ONE UNCAPOTABLE, ANOTHER ARMORED: THE RANGE OF JUAN CARLOS I
Last 2017 a curious model of convertible off-road was presented: the small Range Rover Evoque Convertible. An uncovered body that, even today, is rare in the range of SUVs designed to be sold to a public that will rather take them off the highway. Therefore, models such as a Range Rover Series I Convertible they are something really exclusive. So exclusive that, in fact, it is a customization made by the English preparer Wood & Pickett for the Spanish monarch himself.
A really striking unit, since it is one of the few unhideable Range Rovers that we can find. Such a "rara avis”To spend a day in the field without giving up an iota of comfort thanks to its leather seats, its noble materials and its immense hood. And also with only 3000 kilometers; so we assume that your engine V8 gasoline it will be like new.
A one-of-a-kind vehicle that looks like it was intended for a soft, luxurious Kenyan adventure movie in the Out of Africa style. Even if I have a brother who could rather be a spy! And it is that the other unit auctioned, still being visually less striking than the convertible ... It is really incredible on a technical level.
A great job that the preparer Alcom Devices signed with this 1977 Range Rover armored and equipped with a series of communication instruments that would allow you to get out of any more or less serious attack. Of course, all this while conserving the original mechanics that, in its superior version 4 liters, was able to perform up to 200CV.
SHOT IN MADRID, AUCTIONED IN GERMANY
Even without knowing the moment in which the Royal House disposed of the services of these two vehicles, what we do know is that both they have been around 90.000 euros in the auction that they starred in the recent fair of classics in the German city of Essen. There they changed hands, after their previous owner of Belgian origin entrusted their sale to the British house. Coys of Kensington.
Two unique pieces for their preparation and history that, without a doubt, add to the price list on the rise of a model that is seeing a significant revaluation in recent years. And speaking of seeing, Who would it really be who saw Juan Carlos I dressed in his role as "mystery biker"?
