Chapter 21: Raymond’s Future Hangs in the Balance

The day was finally here, the MOT and Raymond had been a very solid car for the week leading up to today, however this morning he decided to test my nerves. When I got in the car ready to leave, I put the car into drive, however nothing happened… Why, today of all days?

I took a deep breath and then tried again, however nothing again. Well, if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. I put him in drive for a third time and finally he started to move, however it felt as if the brakes were on for the first 30 seconds.

Finally, everything seemed normal again and we headed to the MOT, however once again Raymond filled me with fear when I heard not one, but two very harsh gear changes within a 5-minute window.

I dropped Raymond off at the garage filled with nervous energy. The agonising wait to find out one of two four letter words, pass or fail. After what felt like an eternity the tester came out and with a smile on his face informed me that Raymond had PASSED! An enormous weight was lifted from my shoulders. Only two advisories, one for a slight oil leak and one for a cracked window, but the main thing is that for another year Raymond is legal!

Chapter 20: The Dreaded Day Looms…

Every year there is one day that all motorists dread; the MOT deadline, and we are no different. Raymond is booked in to have his MOT in a few weeks which means we needed to get him prepared.

A quick check showed Raymond was in good shape; the front tyres were wearing on the inside edge, so as a precaution we swapped them for new ones. All Raymond had to do now was behave for a couple of weeks….

The very next morning, I got in the car and was greeted by a light show on the dashboard. Every single warning light was on. What was going on? Has Raymond suddenly become a practical joker or was something wrong. I turned the wheel quickly left and right and thankfully the lights went off, however there was a warning on the dash saying, ‘Suspension Inactive’. This is the last thing we needed on the buildup to the MOT. I turned off the engine and did the old “Have you tried turning it off and back on again?” trick and once again luck was on my side as I could hear the suspension kicking in.

For the rest of the week Raymond decided to not cause me any grief, that was until the morning of the MOT…

I recently watched a film on Netflix, called Extraction II. This was an action-packed sequel starring Chris Hemsworth and a lot of cars, and when I say a lot, I mean a lot of cars.

The whole film was like a car advert featuring G Class Mercedes, tons of new Volkswagens but most importantly some Land Rovers. There is a lovely placement for a 2023 Defender in a scene with Idris Elba, but also a Discovery 4 in a chase scene. And seeing these cars in this film made me think, what are some famous appearances in film by Land Rover?

CARS 2

In no particular order we start with animated Range Rovers from the film Cars 2. The film is partially set in England and features a car version of the Queen, who has a barricade of bodyguards, of which are all Range Rover P38a’s. Also, the Queen’s Guard is represented by a 1962 Series IIa. It’s nice to see that a very American film chose an apt car to represent the military elements of British culture, what with Land Rover’s deep embedded connection to the military.

THE ITALIAN JOB

The next film you wouldn’t necessarily associate with Land Rover, instead you would choose another famous British car manufacturer in Mini, however the Land Rover plays a very important role.

The film is The Italian Job, and whilst it made the iconic Mini iconic, it never would have happened if it weren’t for the kitted-out Series II that blasts through the Italian streets to get them to their eventual getaway cars. But this is very apt for a Land Rover, just getting the job done properly and never asking for any of the glory.

TOMB RAIDER

One of the more iconic and recognisable Land Rovers in film has to be the customised Defender TD5 110 from Tomb Raider.

Angelina Jolie played the character Lara Croft, an adventuring archaeologist who gets into all sorts of scrapes. The Defender is the perfect fit for the character, helping her through all sorts of treacherous conditions, whilst still making her look badass. The car was customised by Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Division, adding tons of accessories to aid her on her expeditions.

JUDGE DREDD

This next one we mentioned in the facts blog (https://blog.famousfour.co.uk/uncategorized/7-interesting-facts-you-may-not-know-about-land-rover/) but it has to be mentioned in this list as well, as it is by far the most interesting looking Land Rover on film. We are of course, referring to the 2139 CityCab from Judge Dredd.

The film is set in a futuristic New York known as Mega City One and the traditional New York Taxi has been replaced by this beast of a vehicle. Based on a 101 Forward Control, these 31 of these cars were made for the film, however most of them were reverted back, leaving only a handful of these cars still in existence.

EON’s JAMES BOND FRANCHISE

This next film isn’t a singular film, instead a franchise and most people would think of the infamous Aston Martins, but Land Rover have had cars featured in 10 James Bond Films, meaning Land Rover has been in more Bond films than any of the Bond actors. Land Rovers have appeared in Octopussy, A View To A Kill, The Living Daylights, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, SPECTRE and No Time To Die.

The first appearance was in the 1983 film Octopussy and it was a Range Rover Rapport Huntsman, a 3-door convertible take on the classic Range Rover. The latest film features a fair few cars but most importantly 3 Defenders, 2 Range Rover Sport SVRs, a Range Rover Classic and Land Rover Series III.

GET CARTER

Many times, the car in film is just a cameo and is easily replaced, however in the film Get Carter, the Land Rover 109 Series II Station Wagon appears quite frequently as it is driven around by criminals chasing the protagonist, Jack Carter.

That same car is later used by the police during an arrest scene, in which the Land Rover is like Mary Poppins handbag with a seemingly never-ending supply of officers getting out, showing the roominess of the Station Wagon version.

In my short time looking into this topic, I have found hundreds of examples of Land Rover’s being used in films; Charlies Angels, Gemini Man, SAS: Red Notice, Tenet, 6 Underground, Fantasy Island just to name a few and all of those are from the last 5 years, so this is a rabbit hole we are going to leave here for now. Let us know your favourite Land Rover cameo in a film and if you want us to do a part 2.