Sir Jimmy Savile Range Rover Carawagon to go under the hammer at Historics at Brooklands in February

Dan Harrison, Editor
Fri, 13 Jan 2012

A rare Range Rover Carawagon - once owned by the late Sir Jimmy Savile - will be among the the lots at the next Historics auction at Mercedes-Benz World on 18 February 2012.

The three-door Range Rover is a 1978 model that's covered 81,271 miles and is expected to fetch between £11,000 and £16,000. It was converted from a standard Range Rover in 1978 by Searle of Sunbury-on-Thames (later named Carawagon International) and was used by Sir Jimmy Savile in the 1980s for his charity work - primarily when fundraising for Stoke Mandeville hospital.

The auction catalogue says: "The vendor believes that this Range Rover spent much time parked at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, an institution that benefitted hugely from Jimmy's patronage. Finished in white, this Carawagon is fitted with a double bed, and comes with a wash basin fitted between the front seats and curtains. The car is supplied with a V5C registration document and a new MoT test certificate. Sadly, Sir Jimmy passed away recently, although he will long be remembered as much for his myriad eccentricities, as for his radio work and his relentless campaigning for the many charities he involved himself in The world is left a poorer place in his absence and his Range Rover is a suitable epitaph for someone who might want to be on duty, but in comfort."

Only a small amount of Range Rover Carawagons were built, largely due to the £3040 price list.

Jimmy Savile Range Rover

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Also in the sale is the six-wheel"Snake Pit" custom car oddity (pictured below), which was designed to smash land speed records. It is said to be "Fitted with no less than six Ford Cobra V8 engines, each displacing 351 cubic inches and with a projected total of approximately 2,000 horse power, this 23 foot long monster is breath taking in every way. The six engines, 12 Holley four-barrel carburettors, 48 exhausts, two Ford C-6 automatic transmissions and a pair of Pontiac rear axles contribute to making this extra-ordinary vehicle a mouth watering addition to any serious collector or museum." It was built 'King of Kustomizers', George Barris and a team consisting of Harry Bradley, Joe Bailon, Jay Ohrberg and built in the early 1970s.

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Among the Jaguars, Porsches, MGs and Aston Martins is a Supermarine Spitfire that saw plenty of action during the Second World War. The auction catalogue chronicles its long and varied history: "This aircraft was manufactured at the Castle Bromwich Aeroplane Factory (number 523) in February 1941 and dispatched for service, being taken on charge with 39 Maintenance Unit, Colerne on 1st March 1941 with serial number P8088. From Colerne, P8088 was delivered for active service on 21st March 1941 to 66 Squadron, Exeter. On the 9th April, 1941, P8088 was then stationed at 118 Squadron, Ibsley, Hampshire where it was given the call sign NK-K. While stationed at Ibsley it was flown by the well known wartime pilot and civilian author Alec Lumsden. It was Lumsden who attributed the nose art depicting Captain A.R.P Reilly-Ffoull (Really Foul), a character from the wartime cartoon strip 'Just Jake' and featuring 'Jane', a young lady who was forever losing items of her clothing. 'Just Jake' ran for 14 years in the Daily Mirror newspaper from 1938 and was drawn by Bernard Graddon. It is also mentioned that on the 18^thApril, Lumsden added the name of his girlfriend, Bette, to the door of P8088. No red tape or time wasted back in those days! In Alec Lumsden's Pilots Log Book, records indicate the exact dates when the nose art and the name Bette were added to the Spitfire. On 16th April 1941, The 'Borough of Lambeth' was painted and on the 17th April, he received a telegram from Bette saying "Good luck to Bette the Spitfire".

After its four month service with Ibsley, NK-K passed to another airfield, Middle Wallop, Stockbridge, Hampshire on 6th July 1941 and then onto 152 (Hyderabad) Squadron at Portreath, Cornwall three days later. On the 27th August that same year, P8088 moved to 19 Squadron at Perranporth, Cornwall as part of an emergency detachment of Spitfires from Squadron 19 from Matlask, Norfolk. But later, on the 31st August, the engine failed on a night landing at Matlask, North Norfolk. It overshot, ran through a barbed wire fence and tipped onto its nose without injury to Pilot Officer N.D.O. Devereux."

P8088 was taken to Exeter for repairs on the 7^th September 1941 and was ready for collection by the 16^thMay, 1942. She was then flown to 33 Maintenance Unit, Lyneham on 3^rd June 1942. On the 21^st September that year, P8088 was issued to 61 Operational Training Unit, Rednal and on 19^th May 1943 she sadly suffered Category B damage (Beyond repair on site, i.e. repairable at a Maintenance Unit or at a contractor's works) when Pilot Officer J.H. Gielstrup (Danish) stalled when landing after the engine failed, collapsing the undercarriage on impact. By the 17^th July, P8088 was repaired and went into storage at 6 Maintenance Unit, Brize Norton on 19^th July. On the 1st August she was then passed to Central Gunnery School, Catfoss. 22^ndFebruary 1944 saw NK-K taken to Heston Aircraft Co., Heston Aerodrome, Middlesex (just east of Heathrow Airport, the M4 now cuts through the middle of what was the aerodrome with the motorway services near junction 3 being built on the land) for repairs and was ready for collection on the 26^th May, 1944 and delivered to 9 Maintenance Unit on the 14^th June. The 1^st July, saw P8088 allotted again to 61 Operational Training Unit and on 16^th September, 1944, NK-K crashed into the ground at Lower Heath Coppice, Prees, Shropshire, killing Flight Sergeant John Cashel Barry RAAF, 22 years old from Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia. He was buried in Chester Regional Cemetery."

In 1944/45, P8088 was recovered by Cosford recovery team and stored for spares and scrappage. In 1978, further parts were recovered from the crash site by the Wartime Aircraft Recovery Group, Heritage Aircraft group. The remains were then passed on to Ibsley museum, Ringwood, Hampshire and displayed. The museum was closed down in the mid 1980's and the Spitfire display and boxed remains subsequently passed to a collector and ex-Cosford recovery team member, Mr Harrington, who then put it into storage. Over recent years NK-K has attended a number of events allowing a large number of people to enjoy it, sit in it, as well as generate some revenue for some worthy charitable organisations. The original aircraft has been modelled by Airfix and Revel in a 1/48th plastic kit as well as a 1/18th version made by 21st Century Models; although this is now apparently quite a collectors' piece having gone out of production many years ago. Microsoft Combat simulator also has a version of NK-K which has been beautifully recreated for computer gaming."

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