The Range Rover has probably never had a higher profile than it  enjoys today. Far from being just a very accomplished SUV the current generation is seen as among the very upper echelon of super-prestige cars. Its the best of the best, the flashiest of the flash. For confirmation just turn to MTV Base and see how long it takes before you see one packed full of homies sipping on Henessey and rocking mad ice. Or something.
So far has it progressed that it can be easy to forget where the RR came from. The first of the breed, current from ’70 to ’94 was a true legend. The MKIII, heavy on BMW input, redefined the Range Rover and set it on the course it’s on now. And between 1994 and 2002 the P38 happened…. which is perhaps not quite so deserving of our adulation. However, for whatever reason it’s this generation which lives on in 1:18th scale in my collection. So here it is.

I can usually recall the exact split second that I welcomed a new model into my collection, but that’s not the case with this one. I believe it was some family shopping trip some time probably around the turn of the millennium, I must have seen it for sale for a figure within my means (must have been seriously dirt cheap) and so I bought it due to Historical Significance or something. Who really knows, but whatever the case it was absorbed into the collection.
And there it stayed for years and years without ever being disturbed. Only today when tidying the attic did I decide to give it an airing.
Why on Earth didn’t I unearth it sooner?

My Auntie had a P38. A 4.6 HSE like this one, but a few years earlier than this AutoArt rendition depicts. I remember being incredibly impressed with it when she showed it to me, with that air suspension which went all up and down at the touch of a button, electric windows with bounce-back anti-trap protection (OK I was easily impressed) and, of course, the way that the whole car would rock and twist when she revved the engine. I thought it was awesome.
Of course, these days the P38 suffers both from living in the shadow of the great original and from not being as inspired as its replacement. On top of that, survivors have a reputation for unreliability and, thanks to electrical complexity maintenance and repair costs an absolute fortune. If that’s not bad news enough, there is a disturbing amount of interior component commonality between that HSE of my Aunties’, and the Rover 825 Si sitting on my driveway right now.

Perhaps ironically, this is one of the very best models I own. I first saw one of theses AutoArt Range Rovers in a branch of Modelzone (RIP) and it was absolutely astronomically priced. It was around that time that I was beginning to awaken to there being more to the model car world than just Bburago and Maisto, but there was just too much of a price gulf between the regular brands and what I came to see as the high end. However, either these P38 models must have either been quite badly product researched or the market became saturated really quickly, because values fell like a stone. Even today this is one of the lest grotesquely expensive AutoArts to be found on eBay.

Lets start with the negatives. The side doors are very slightly out of alignment, and the rears can’t be opened before the fronts. The tyres don’t have any branding on the sidewalls, the hood doesn’t hold itself open and the top half of the split-tailgate doesn’t open quite far enough. There’s no interior headlining, either.
But that’s about it, really. Everything else is fantastic. The proportions and stance are superb, shut-lines are crisp and consistent and the nicely modelled wheels sit well in the arches. The paint is really even and the metal flakes don’t seem outscaled. The headlamps are nicely done and come alive in natural light, all the badges and emblems are clearly and accurately applied.

The interior is fantastic. There’s carpet throughout and wood veneer trim that looks half believable. All the buttons and controls are labelled and correctly positioned, including the red treatment of the hazard warning light switch. Particular credit must go to the gear selector which really does look as if you could yank it into D and drive off.
Oh yeah, the armrests on the front seats can be adjusted FFS. The lumbar support would probably work if I could find the button.
It would be a disgrace if we now found that the engine looked terrible. It doesn’t.

This was the last hurrah for the venerable Rover / Buick V8, offered in the P38 in 4.0 (190hp) or 4.6 (225hp) flavours, both sounding as evocative as ever. Here in 1:18 scale it all looks about right, with the alternator up at the front (height of electrical components being A Good Thing when wading is concerned) and lots of realistic looking plumbing squirting around the engine bay in realistic directions. The Land Rover branding is correctly applied where it should be, too.

Overall, considering this is a decade and a half old, it’s a pretty remarkable model and one which deserves a place in any collection, even if SUVs aren’t really your thing. I’m certainly not their biggest fan, but I do appreciate and want to acknowledge the incredible impact they’ve had on our motoring scene. This model is a damn good way to do just that.
All images copyright Chris Haining / Hooniverse 2015)