If you were to ask all of James Bond’s countless enemies what their vehicle of choice would be, it’d be an overwhelming consensus what the answer would be. In a snarky English accent, you would hear, “it’s definitely a Range Rover ey”. You might not be a supervillain trying to decimate the world but you certainly can feel like one. We found this 2009 Range Rover Sport HSE on Cars and Bids and it could be all yours.
Finished in a deep burgundy or as Land Rover calls it, Bournville Metallic, the Sport is one of the most iconic and gorgeous vehicles in Land Rover’s history. The Sport displays a sharp stray from Land Rover’s offroad and off-the-grid heritage. Gone were the days of the old school Defender and ushered in was the time of the Range Rover and its chassis-sharing brethren the Discovery LR3. Boasting a 4.4 L V8 which put out an adequate 300 horsepower the Sport retained its brawny and muscular culture with a solid powerplant.
This HSE hails from Michigan, but the listing says its first owner kept it in the south. Knowing that a Land Rover is rust free secures the peace of mind that the underside won’t just fall off while you’re going 50 mph, ask me how I know. This Rover is equipped with Toyo Open Country tires (our favorite street tires on a SUV) mounted on spaces to make the fitment flush which in our 100% unprofessional opinion looks pretty solid and minacious. An aftermarket air suspension system has also been installed in order to prevent the OEM one from failing and making a Land Rover look like a lowrider. Pretty important preventative maintenance if you ask me.
While the Range Rover Sport is a departure from what Land Rover traditionally is, the remnants of their heritage is found widely throughout. The 4WD system with a 2-speed transfer case and its boxy, rectangular design are distinctively Land Rover. That’s why we picked this car, and with lower miles than most Range Rover Sports on the road, it may not be a bad buy.
Buyer beware, Land Rover from this era wasn’t exactly going through a product quality golden age. Multiple items to look out for if you’re looking into this car or similar Land Rovers from this era. Faulty control arms, a defective transfer case, air suspension leaks (this one seems to have it figured out), and a random parking brake failure… I’ve heard it all. This Range Rover at the time of this article has 6 days left with a bid at $2,300. With prices for these just below the $15,000 range for higher mileage examples, it’ll be interesting to see where the price falls. With only 60,000 miles this car would be a steal for under $11,500. And no, henchmen sent by Bond’s nemesis armed with guns in every seat are not included.
