Florida Man Auctioning One-of-a-Kind Land Rover Dakar Racer.
Marc Ward, a Land Rover enthusiast from Barbados is having an auction this month destined to make eBay history - again. This is the second auction featuring one of the most unusual high-value items ever offered on the world's most popular auction site - the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own your a one-of-a-kind Land Rover Dakar racer. The racer auction began on November 29, 2006 at 9:30 PM EST, and will run for ten days and re-listed if necessary. It can be viewed by going to eBay Motors auction number 180057691996, or visit www.xtremelandrover.com.
Delray Beach, FL (PRWeb) December 2, 2006 -- Marc Ward, an avid Land Rover enthusiast from the idyllic island of Barbados is having an auction this month destined to make eBay history - again. The first auction six months ago for a team of three cars generated lots of interest and press, including a great article in Land Rover Monthly, a popular UK enthusiast magazine. The "Team" concept was great on paper, but didn't generate enough bids to meet Marc's reserve. So this time Marc is going to auction the TomCat racer by itself. This is one of the most unusual, one-of-a-kind items ever offered on the world's most popular auction site.
Marc decided to turn a dream into reality in the year 2000… to build the most extreme Land Rover TomCat ever built outside of Land Rover's own shops. This would be the ultimate in speed, strength, convenience, quality, comfort and exclusivity. It took three years, countless hours of brainstorming, planning and collaboration - and now it's available for sale to the discriminating enthusiast.
Marc shipped in all new body pieces from the UK. All three chassis were painted with the same coal tar epoxy used on supertankers, which Marc chose for its excellent moisture-resistance. The paint also acts as an extra insulator to prevent galvanic corrosion. Next came the custom roll cage, designed to withstand a tumble down a ravine. Simon Gilmore of SRG Engineering and a top rally car builder himself took 3 months to build the cage to full FIA specs.
The racer features a 4.6 litre Cross Bolted Range Rover V8 Engine with stage one heads and stage two valves, and a Lucas gems hot wire type ignition system. This is a single fuel rail design similar to the one used in the BMW straight six X5 and is ultra reliable. Then he added a Range Rover Transverse Gearbox, Low+High and Lock or unlock diff., Front Range Rover Axel with Teflon Balls, Rear Range Rover Axel with Detroit Soft Locker, and Headman Headers going into 2 flow master mufflers. Topping that off are an Earls custom Oil Cooler, 2 Bosh 12 V High Capacity Fuel Pumps on Separate Circuits , 2 Billet Reusable Eldebroc Filters and an Aeromotive Fuel Regulator set at 50 PSI. Drew Bowler supplied a TVR chip which will turn the engine into a snarling monster - but has not been installed as yet.
Marc's friend Drew Bowler, considered one of the finest off-road racers in the world (Bowler Offroad, Derbyshire, England) provided R380 gearbox and transfer case, which had only been used briefly in test vehicles at Solihull where they had been meticulously maintained. This is a 5 speed constant mesh transmission custom-designed for four-wheel applications. The full list of custom, state-of-the-art specs is too long to list, but is available on Marc's website, www.XtremeLandRover.com. You can be sure that every luxury has been thought of.
Initially, Marc hoped to auction the racer as a team with his two custom Defender support vehicles. The first auction six months ago attracted a lot of interest, but no actual sale for the full team. So now Marc has decided to sell all the vehicles individually, starting with the racer.
The racer auction began on November 29, 2006 at 9:30 PM EST, and will run for ten days and re-listed if necessary. It can be viewed by going to eBay Motors auction number 180057691996, or click here:
eBay Land Rover TomCat Auction
You can preview the vehicles, with detailed specifications and over 100 high-resolution photographs, at: http://xtremelandrover.com
While the auction is running, interested bidders and/or their representatives can have the opportunity to inspect the vehicles on request. The TomCat racer is stored in Florida
Sample Specs:
Land Rover Hybrid Racer, 1972/2005
For more information and full specs on all vehicles, please visit the website at www.XtremeLandRover.com. To schedule an interview with Marc, please contact at P.J. Ward (561) 865-9247.
