Images: Silverstone Auctions

If you’re an avid off-road enthusiast, chances are you have a love, or at least a respect, for the original Range Rover. Introduced to the market in 1970, this iconic vehicle remains one of the most popular classic off-road vehicles to date. So what if you could get your hands on the very first production Range Rover ever built? Well, thanks to the upcoming Silverstone Auction in the UK, one lucky Range Rover enthusiast will get that very chance!

A true success story in the off-road community, the iconic first-generation Range Rover hit the market in the summer of 1970. Just like with every production order, this made room for a VIN 0001 vehicle, which in this case was one of 28 “pre-production” vehicles that hit the line well before the vehicles destined for dealer showrooms.

Registered in early January of 1970, over five months prior to the Range Rover’s official launch, the VIN 0001 Range Rover was presumably used for marketing purposes and media features.

Once it played its roll, the vehicle was sent to Michael Forlong, the producer of the original Range Rover promotional films, who became the vehicle’s first private owner. Before Forlong took possession of the vehicle, it was sprayed in factory Bahama Gold paint (replacing the original Olive Green it was produced with) and fitted with its textured dash.

In 1975, the Range Rover was given the private registration code of WGA 71 (in place of its original pre-production registration code of YVB 151H) prior to being sold to another party. Unfortunately in the vehicle’s time after, it was passed from owner to owner, losing its private registration number and its known historical significance with it.

While the first production Range Rover seemingly disappeared for some time, it was located again in the 1990s by its current owner; after which it underwent a complete mechanical and body restoration.

Though the vehicle was passed around quite a bit, it still retains its original numbers-matching chassis, engine, axles and transmission, as well as its original body shell and aluminum bonnet.

An amazingly historic piece for any Land Rover, Range Rover or off-road enthusiast, this VIN 0001 Range Rover is set to cross the auction block at the Silverstone Auctions Salon Privé show in London on September 4, 2014. Early estimates of what this special vehicle may bring for a selling price start at £ 100,000 ($168,000 USD) and reach heights of £ 140,000 ($235,000 USD).