Hampshire Police Range Rovers
We continue our 40 Year Celebration of Police Range Rovers by taking a look at the Hampshire Constabulary’s use of the car from 1972 to 2002. The PC-UK Editor was lucky enough to drive them when on the Traffic Department and gives a potted history of their use within Hampshire together with his own recollections of what they were like to use as a work tool.
Words and photos supplied by Steve Woodward
One of Hampshire’s first two Range Rovers in 1972
I clearly remember seeing my very first Range Rover. It was in 1970 and I was 11 years old and I was out with my aunt, herself a bit of a petrol head, even if we were driving s battered VW Beetle. We were negotiating a roundabout on the outskirts of London when we saw a red Range Rover approaching from the opposite direction. My aunt quite literally shouted out because it was the first one she’d seen too and she was determined she was going to have one, one day. It was love at first sight for me too, it just looked so different, so big and imposing, yet somehow quite sleek, even if it did have all the aerodynamics of a breeze block! I knew nothing of its V8 Buick engine or its four wheel drive or aluminium construction, but I just knew I wanted one.
As I grew up I continued to hanker after owning one and would take every opportunity to look longingly through the windows of parked Range Rovers just to get a peek inside. The only other car I recall being as obsessed by as a youngster was the MK1 Granada Ghia Coupe and both were out of my league financially. So once eligible to take to the roads it was a series of motorcycles for me before finally getting my first car, a knacker Triumph Toledo at the age of 20. I was a poor probationer an it was all I could afford.
But of course being in the job meant that occasionally I’d get to see a Traffic Division Range Rover and I was hoping that during my Traffic attachment as a proby that I might actually get to go in one. No such luck as I spent the whole two weeks languishing in the back of a Rover SD1.
Hampshire have never been big fleet users of Range Rovers, rather the force has operated about two or three at any one time over the last 30 years. The first two on the fleet were purchased in June 1972 (GOT 996K and GOT 997K) and were eventually pensioned off in 1976. One of these cars (GOT 997K) was fitted with an experimental stem light system that was elevated via an over-sized triangular roof box, which I think was made by Ferri Plastics in Blackpool. The other car was fitted with a more conventional stem light, of the bucket variety and with a small triangular box sat behind it. This box wasn’t fitted with a blue light and it made the whole set up look rather strange. These first two cars were then replaced by three more (VCG 667N, VCG 668N and VCG 670N) all two door 3.5 V8s of course. As can be seen from the photo below, VCG 667N was also fitted with a stem light and a standard rectangular roof box behind that. VCG 668N also had a repeater light fitted to the leading edge of the bonnet which seems like a rather adhoc place to put it.
Second Hampshire Range Rover seen at Fleet Services on the M3 circa 1975/6
In 1979 Hampshire went all yellow. It switched from the standard orange stripe to Saturn Yellow and this coincided with the acquisition of three more Range Rovers to replace the 1975 models. As can be seen from the photo below UCR 578T looks somewhat different in its new style livery, although the equipment carried has remained largely unchanged except for the addition of a large spoiler across the rear. This latest fashion accessory was being fitted to Traffic patrol cars in most forces during this period and the Range Rovers housed the standard illuminated Police/Stop signage and two red repeater lights. The yellow livery was very short lived, in fact it lasted less than two years when the force reverted back to the standard red striping as seen on this Eastleigh Traffic based 1980 Range Rover XBP 398V, which also gives a better view of the rear spoiler.
The yellow livery was difficult to see in bright light
The yellow livery was quickly replaced with more traditional red
In 1980 Hampshire Police suffered a terrible tragedy when two of its Traffic officers were killed when the Range Rover they were travelling in overturned. There were all manner of legal difficulties surrounding the case and it took ten years before financial settlements were made with the families. But there were also concerns that Range Rovers should not be used in pursuit situations as they simply weren’t up to the job and their role was then more strictly defined.
The First of the new four door models arrived in 1983
In 1983 the force bought three more Range Rovers, this time the new four door model. LRV 954Y was based at Fareham Traffic and sported the now familiar stem light and rear spoiler set up. By now you are probably wondering why Hampshire bought its Range Rovers in batches of three? Well the answer is fairly simple in that traditionally the force Traffic areas have been split into three, Southern Eastern Traffic (who were the cream of the outfit), South Western Traffic and Northern Traffic. In the photo showing the Farnborough Range Rover KOR 568Y you can see a rather strange looking caged grille that has been attached to the frontal area of the car. This was an experiment to aid protection of the lights and radiator area. The next batch arrived in 1985 and were C554 BTR, C555 BTR and C556 BTR and the upgrade included the new 3.9 EFi engines which gave the Range Rover a bit more grunt, but apart from that Hampshire’s Range Rovers remained pretty static in terms of livery and equipment used.
Farnborough Traffic’s Range Rover complete with strange grille attachment (photo Phil Jacob)
1985 model Range Rover 3.9 EFi
I had to wait until I got transferred onto Traffic in 1988 before finally I actually got to drive one. Within a matter of weeks of getting onto the department I was heading north to HQ at Winchester with my new crew mate to pick up a Range Rover to use on Operation Roger, which was the joint Hampshire, Thames Valley, Wiltshire escort of Cruise Missiles from Greenham Common to Salisbury Plain. I could hardly contain myself as we climbed aboard, although that was tempered somewhat by the fact my crew mate insisted on driving during the escort as this was my first one. As the big V8 motor burbled into life and shook the car from side to side it was a dream come true. However, within minutes I found myself becoming increasingly concerned about the adverse body roll and asked my partner if this was normal or were all our tyres flat? It was normal and I’d have to get used to it. By the early hours we were in the middle of rural Wiltshire at the rear of the huge military convoy and had to stop to sort out some protesters and consequently lost touch with the escort for about 10 minutes. After getting going again we reached a small village with a crossroads in it and my partner took the right turn. It was the wrong way and after half a mile or so he realised, did a quick U-turn and headed back to the cross roads at one hell of a pace. He turned right back onto the main road, so fast that we actually did a four wheel drift (we are in a 4x4 remember!) and the car tipped over so far to the left that had I had my hand out of the window I could easily have filed my nails on the pavement. It was quite terrifying.
After depositing the escort up on Salisbury Plain it was my turn to drive back to Winchester. I have to confess that I found the drive both exhilarating and hugely disappointing all at the same time. I loved the noise and power from that V8 motor and the great driving position but the handling, vague steering and wallowy ride put me on edge and I never felt comfortable in it. But the fact that it was a Range Rover seemed to over ride those concerns in the end and it still put a smile on my face.
Operation Roger became a regular job for us which meant that about once every six weeks or so I got to drive a Range Rover and I slowly grew accustomed to its ways. So long as you remember it’s not a saloon car and therefore won’t drive like one you should be OK. A couple of years later and I got to drive it for a few weeks during the protests for the M3 extension where the cars off-road abilities came to the fore. i quickly grew to admire its amazing ability on the rough chalk downs and part built roads as we chased the tree huggers away from the construction site.
The Editor watches a group of M3 protesters from the safety of his Range Rover on the chalk hills of Twyford Down near Winchester
In 1992 Hampshire had a change in policy and opted to buy just one Range Rover 3.9 EFi for the north of the county (K539 NTR) whilst us southern softies were given series 1 Land Rover Discovery 2.5 TDi’s which were not very well received and weren’t given the nickname of ‘The Tractor’ for nothing.
We made do with the Disco’s for a number of years until 1998 when the force opted to use the new Pegasus Range Rover and brought three of the new 4.0 litre V8 models with automatic gearboxes. And for the first time we got one of them at my station at Cosham. The cars S188 NPX, S189 NPX and S190 NPX looked fantastic in Hampshire’s all new, award winning candy stripe graphics and the new Whelan AdvantEdge stem light, which was incorporated into the standard light bar fittings. It was a lot more slim line than the bucket type and obviously a lot less top heavy.
Steve Woodward stood beside the new 4.0i litre V8 Pegasus Range Rover
I became quite an enthusiastic advocate of the new Range Rover. It was much easier to drive than the previous model and although you had to really use the auto box more like a manual just to get it going it was a superb motorway car. And of course it goes without saying it would drag just about anything from the carriageway that needed dragging. I don’t recall a single occasion when it got defeated. I’m just glad I didn’t have to foot the bill for its daily intake of unleaded fuel. It needed filling at the end of every shift with about 60 litres (so 120 litres per day on average) and is one of the few cars I’ve driven at speed on the motorway where you can actually watch the fuel gauge move towards empty!
But it was also an infuriatingly unreliable beast. We had constant problems with the air suspension. The on board computer would tell you that it had collapsed, when it was clear that it hadn’t but it meant driving it slowly to workshops where it would spend a couple of days being diagnosed as being perfectly healthy. Our car also had three new engines in just 77,000 miles, five radiators and a huge number of hoses that blew with monotonous regularity. So of course there were those who refused to take it out in case they got stranded at the roadside.
My crew mate of the time loved it though. I mean really loved it. It was his personal toy and as a dedicated Land Rover nut he was in his element. Sadly in April 2000 at the age of just 39 he died of a heart attack. A full Police funeral was arranged and I hit on the idea that the forces three Range Rovers lead the funeral cortege. But there was a problem. Ours was in the bodyshop because we’d rammed a stolen car through a hedge and the northern car was also waiting for major repairs. We had four days to get all three cars back on the road. To the eternal credit of the forces workshop staff they managed to do just that. In fact such was their determination to help that our car was being painted at midnight the night before the funeral and they dried it using hair dryers so that the livery could be applied in time. Come the day, as sad and as emotional as it was, I have to say I felt incredibly proud to see Kevin’s funeral lead by all three of Hampshire Range Rovers. It was an amazing sight and he would have loved it.
Less than a year later S189 NPX was having warranty repairs carried out at the local Land Rover dealership (again) and they stupidly left the car outside instead of inside their secure yard overnight and the local yobs couldn’t resist slashing all the tyres and then smashing a side window, pouring petrol inside the car and then tossing a match into it. The car was completely destroyed and because our office had moaned about its unreliability so often we became the prime suspects for the arson!
Burnt out shell of S189 NPX
In 2001 Hampshire’s Air Support Unit took delivery of a refurbished 1988 Range Rover 6x4 Carmichael Crash Tender. Purchased from the MOD the car was completely overhauled prior to entering service and looked terrific in its fire engine red paint complete with Hampshire Police graphics. It was armed with foam suppressant tanks, search lights and a whole range of other emergency equipment.
Air Support Unit 6x4 Carmichael Crash Tender
As soon as it was put into service i drove across to the Air Support Unit at HMS Daedalus armed with my camera to take a few shots. Whilst talking to one of the crew he threw me the keys and asked if I wanted to take it for a drive around the airfield perimeter road. He didn’t need to ask twice. So off I set driving this four ton monster rather gingerly at first out onto the perimeter road It used the standard 3.5 litre V8 motor coupled to the old manual gearbox and felt incredibly unwieldy. It wasn’t too bad until I came to a dew fairly tight bends in the road and I found that it suffered from massive understeer and I was only doing 25mph. But I was intrigued. Just how fast could you reasonably expect to go in something that almost seemed to have a mind of its own. By the time I got to do my second lap I was feeling a bit more confident. But not for long because as those same bends loomed large so my bottle went and I ended up hitting the brakes. It wallowed and weaved its way through the bends with me fighting it every inch of the way. i could feel the liquid load swooshing about in the rear and the whole thing felt like it was hinged in the middle. I certainly wouldn’t have enjoyed driving it out on a proper road with traffic to dodge. The car was replaced by a Nissan Terrano about two years ago after the Range Rover’s reliability drove everyone mad. Nonetheless it remains an impressive looking, if scary thing to drive.
Rear shot of Air Support Unit Crash Tender
Those S reg models proved to be the very last Range Rovers used by Hampshire because in 2002 the force became the first in the world to use the BMW X5 and has been using them ever since. But as good as the X5 is, it isn’t a Range Rover. OK, it’s a hundred times more reliable, it handles in a way the Range Rover could only ever dream of and it’s nowhere near as thirsty. But it doesn’t have the same presence, the same kudos, that same flag-ship-of-the-force personality that the Range Rover has. 
Farnborough Traffic Range Rover from 1983 (photo Phil Jacob)