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REMEMBER the Tomb Raider movie.
Remember the specially modified Land Rover Defender that action gal Lara Croft drove?
Well, we got to drive the car on a visit to Land Rover’s playground at Eastnor Castle in the north of England.
Three cars were put together for the 2001 movie starring Angelina Jolie
One was destroyed during the making of the movie, one bought by a collector and the third one was retained by Land Rover as part of its heritage collection.
Based on a Defender 110 utility, it runs a 3.9-litre V8, hooked up to a four-speed auto - and boy is it loud.
The car was specially modified by Land Rover Special Vehicles to Paramount Pictures specifications.
It is a bonatti gray colour, with aluminum tread plates and bumpers, and is fitted with a heritage-style grille and four safari driving lights mounted on the roof rack.
Accessories include an expedition tool kit, fender-mounted shovel and axe, winches at the front, rear and sides, a dash-mounted notebook computer, a global positioning system, a global system for mobile telephone and emergency kill buttons.
We’ll let you in on a little secret. The switches don’t actually work but the car was remarkably easy to drive.
23 Nov 09 @ 05:32pm by CHRIS RILEY
