Land Rover unveiled in 1948 to be brought back to life to mark its 70th anniversary

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One of three pre-production Land Rovers built in 1948 that was believed to be lost forever after going missing four decades ago has been relocated by the car maker - and now it will painstakingly restore it to celebrate the marque's 70th birthday. 

The car was unearthed last year in a garden a matter of miles from the Solihull factory in which it was built after all records of its existence had gone cold in the Sixties.

Having graced the entry halls of Jaguar Land Rover Classics' new headquarters in Coventry since June 2017, the brand has confirmed it will be returned to its original glory by a team of expert technicians to mark the company's anniversary.

Back from the dead: Land Rover feared that this 1948 pre-production prototype had been lost forever, but not it has been found they will restore it back to its former glory

The renovation project comes as parent company Jaguar Land Rover prepares to launch a 21st-century version of the rugged Defender, as the original model later became known.  

A Land Rover spokesman said: ‘For years the whereabouts of this launch Land Rover was a mystery.’

'The demonstration vehicle from the Amsterdam show was last on the road in the 1960s, after which it spent 20 years in a Welsh field before being bought as a restoration project; it then lay languishing unfinished in a garden just a few miles outside of Solihull – where the car was first built.'

Experts at Jaguar Land Rover Classic - the team behind the successful Land Rover Series I Reborn programme and the 1970s Range Rover continuation - spent months researching in company archives to unravel its ownership history and confirm its provenance.

In recent months, the off-the-road vehicle has been stationed in the vintage-car specialist's new state-of-the-art facility in the Midlands as a showcase of Land Rover's long history.

The car went missing in 1988 after being purchased as a restoration project that was never completed

The car, reportedly suffering from a seized engine, stood dormant in Welsh field for 20 years

As the pictures show, it's certainly in a sorry state. However, Jaguar Land Rover Classic mechanics will try to retain as much of the original as possible, including the green paint

JLR Classic employees will now turn their attention to the badly worn 4x4 to preserve the historically significant prototype and enable it to be driven again. 

Fans are being invited to witness its rebirth as skilled mechanics go about reproducing many of the salvageable parts and buffing the bits that can be retained during a 12-month rebuild.

This includes special components that were unique to 48 pre-production Land Rovers created before the mass-produced car arrived, such as thicker aluminium alloy body panels, a galvanised chassis and a removable rear tub.

The 4x4 has been used as a focal point of the reception area as you enter Jaguar Land Rover Classic's new state-of-the-art facility in Coventry since June last year

The trail ran cold on the whereabouts of the one-of-three prototypes in the 1980s. This is the car used as the showpiece at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show

Tim Hannig, Jaguar Land Rover Classic Director, said: ‘This Land Rover is an irreplaceable piece of world automotive history and is as historically important as ‘Huey’, the first pre-production Land Rover. Beginning its sympathetic restoration here at Classic Works, where we can ensure it’s put back together precisely as it’s meant to be, is a fitting way to start Land Rover’s 70th anniversary year.’

He added: 'There is something charming about the fact that exactly 70 years ago this vehicle would have been undergoing its final adjustments before being prepared for the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show launch – where the world first saw the shape that’s now immediately recognised as a Land Rover.' 

Technicians at Jaguar Land Rover Classic have been restoring Series I cars for as part of an ongoing project

The prototype car is very different to the mass-production Series I vehicles, with thicker aluminium alloy body panels, a galvanised chassis and a removable rear tub

Land Rover said the project is one of many to celebrate 70 years of the brand and will take the entirety of 2018 to complete