Land Rover Discovery 2 Camper

In 1998, the Land Rover Discovery launched their second generation of the much-loved Discovery simple called the Discovery 2.

The new model which was shown to the world in the autumn of 1998 was said to have been crafted with 720 differences - although the biggest goal of all of these changes was to appeal to a demographic which didn’t have an ‘ideal’ car in the Land Rover line up - it was the family buyer.

Now you might be saying, well Steph, what about the Range Rover? And surely the Defender can offer that too? Well, the Range Rover had moved into that upper bracket where it was seen as the luxury choice and the Defender is quite a gritty ordeal as a child chucked in the back - trust me - I know from experience.

Land Rover recognised they had a gap, a bit of a weakness, which could be exploited by people like Nissan or Toyota or Mitsubishi who were offering cars like the Patrol, Pajero and Land Cruiser.

So what they did, was ensure the Discovery 2 offered what the family buyer wanted without forgetting that core audience who wanted a working vehicle. The rear body was extended to comfortably seat 7 adults in the 7 seater option - which from lived experience wasn’t actually that comfortable.

The 2 offered more than just extra room though and introduced the self levelling suspension and the TD5 engine - which replaced the 300tdi - this gave the car an engine which was smoother and produced more useable torque at lower revs; an attractive prospect to the core Discovery buyer.

However, what of this example we test today? How did it go from a normal Discovery 2 to a camper built for an around the world adventure?

It was built by John Davies and he was a man who approached the brief of creating a usable camper with great gusto. The car you see today, well vehicle, was first chopped in half before being put back together - but with a twist - because John implanted two 30 inch members to stretch the chassis and take it from that standard 100 inches to 130 inches, around 3.3 metres to make the world’s first and believed to be the only, Discovery 130.

If you’re wondering how the interior is so complete and doesn’t feel like a mix of bits and bobs, that’s because it’s a caravan interior which has been directly lifted from a Compass caravan which had been written off - a marvellous use of parts which would’ve otherwise gone to landfill.

If you’re wondering what this now weighs, it comes in at 3 1/2 tonnes - but most of the weight is contained in things like the waste and water tanks, which means the weight isn’t at the top and therefore doesn’t feel top-heavy and strange as you drive it.

However, all that extra weight means the speed of old Mavis was somewhat hindered and whilst John oversaw the design, the next owners Tony and Candy took it one step further and the vehicle had benefitted from a stage 2 remap and a large aluminium intercooler - which as I tell you later on - takes the power output up to 185 bhp and gives you an mpg of low-mid 20s; depending on your driving style.

The camper has been all over Europe and continues to be used for holidays and adventures - but the next adventure for this one is a little test drive around the West Midlands.