Man On Emission
With the ULEZ expansion taking effect this month, Kingsley Cars are keeping the classics on the road
London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone has increased. From October 25, drivers of older and diesel-powered vehicles face a £12.50 daily charge to drive across most of the capital, between the South Circular and North Circular Roads. Whether you see this as necessary, a minor annoyance, or an infringement of your civil liberties, one thing’s for certain: we’re going to see fewer classic cars on the road.
But not if Kingsley Cars have anything to do with it.
They’ve marked the expansion of the Emission Zone by launching a range of fully compliant ULEZ Reborn Range Rover Classics.
As Kingsley Cars’ founder Damon Oorloff explains, “Classic cars are real head turners on the commute so it’s important for businesses like ours to keep classic cars on the road.
“Having been around classic Range Rovers for most of my life and after building a business around these vehicles, it was crucial for the company to come up with a way to not only continue to restore classic Range Rovers and Land Rovers but to enhance them for modern use.”
As any Range Rover driver will know, the classic weak spots – corrosion, engine and drivetrain – have been identified and rectified, with Kingsley stripping the cars to a bare shell, and completely re-engineering each model, future proofing them for UK roads. The cars are fitted with a 4.0-litre fuel injected 220 bhp V8 engine (or an optional 4.6-litre fuel injected 270 bhp V8), an uprated ZF 4HP22 automatic gearbox and a fully rebuilt Borg Warner transfer box.
And because it’s not just about the engineering, they can also add all the technology you’d expect from a new car, such as reversing camera, front and rear sensors, cruise control, wireless smartphone charging and rear iPad entertainment.
Prices start from £125,000 plus specifications, including taxes, and the build process will take six to eight months. To register your interest, drop the Kingsley Cars sales team a line on sales@kingsleycars.co.uk.
Neil Davey
Neil Davey is a freelance writer specialising in things you can do sitting down, but mostly eating, drinking, travelling and interviewing the odd famous person. The author of The Bluffer's Guide To Chocolate, Neil also writes for The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, Metro, Delicious Magazine, Sainsbury's Magazine, Escapism, Foodism and Hello!. Thanks to a karaoke machine in Montana, he once told a billionaire that he loved his sweet little pussycat nose and sang I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For with a Hollywood star, in the space of 15 minutes. He now generally stays away from karaoke machines in Montana.