2002 Land Rover Defender 90 TD5 Tomb Raider

In 2001 Paramount Pictures unleashed Angelina Jolie's film version of Lara Croft upon the world, thereby expanding the franchise beyond the constraints of the earlier video game.

Naturally, the fearless, death-defying, knife-wielding adventuress would need a rufty-tufty, hard-as-nails car to get her through jungles, up mountains and across rivers.

Obviously, a Land Rover was the only sensible choice.

Keen to capitalize on the brand goodwill generated by the film for which Land Rover Special Vehicles provided three specially converted Td5 110s, Land Rover brought out a limited run of just 250 'Tomb Raider' editions, available as either Td5 90 or 110 versions.
 
These cars were built to have a real expedition look and feel to them and were among the most comprehensively equipped Defenders ever from Land Rover.
 
The fine example we have with us today belongs to a collector of rare, fine and interesting automotive exotica, and he has owned it since February 2024.
 
He is only selling because he is rationalising his collection and wants to make room for other things that might catch his eye.
 
Among other bits and pieces that mark this vehicle out as being rather better appointed than its lesser siblings are:

    •    'Bonatti Grey' metallic paint
    •    'Pewter Grey Boost' alloys
    •    special badging and details
    •    a roof rack and roof rack support system similar to a roll-cage
    •    additional spotlights, long-range Rally 1000 headlights
    •    bull-bars
    •    black wheel-arch 'eyebrows'
    •    ABS and ETC
    •    chequer-plate aluminium panels and trim, inside and out
    •    'Grey Smokestone' interior
    •    'Black Quest' fabric seats
    •    black leather steering wheel
    •    air conditioning.

All of it, we are delighted to tell you, is present, correct and in generally fine condition, as you might hope and expect to find on and in a vehicle that has been carefully curated throughout its life and has yet to reach the 35,000-mile mark.

The bodywork is very straight and true, and there are no dimples, dinks or dents of any note anywhere that we can see.

Everything that’s meant to be bright and shiny, such as the wheels and the various bits of aluminium chequer-plate, is living up to its billing and looks fine.

The alloy wheels are not just shiny, they’re also in very good condition, as are the matching General Grabber tyres, which look to have plenty of life left in them.

The ‘Bonatti Grey’ paintwork has held up very well in general, save for a few patches of over-spray here and there.

We noticed the odd scratch and scuff around the o/s/f corner and a couple of small spots of nascent blistering around the hinges for the air vents beneath the windscreen.

There’s a small crack to the paint and a few paint chips on the o/s/r flank and it’s adjacent wheel-arch eyebrow.

Finally, there’s a scuff on the n/s/f wheel-arch eyebrow and, in one or two places, some of the external rubber trim is looking a little ragged and long-in-the-tooth.

The lights, lenses, badging and other exterior fixtures and fittings all look to be in very good order.
 

The simple, spartan interior looks as bullet proof as the rest of it, with chequer-plate aluminium flooring deployed to good effect in place of carpets and mats.

The door cards are fine, as is the contrasting white headlining.

The steering wheel, gear lever and controls look good, as do the other dials and instruments.

As far as we’re aware, everything does what it’s supposed to do.

The front seats have a little very light creasing on the bolsters of the seat squab cushions, but are otherwise untroubled by use or the passage of time.

The same applies to the four pop-up rear seats, facing each other in pairs across the rear cabin.

There are some tears to the vinyl covering the bases of the front seats, and a further small tear at a rear corner of the central armrest storage box.
 

This car has covered very few miles in the last 22 years and its engine, engine bay and undersides are a testament to that fact.

Everything in the engine bay looks, clean, dry, present and correct.

Nothing we’ve seen underneath has given us cause to draw a sharp intake of breath or start tutting. 
 

The car comes with an original Land Rover specification sheet and a variety of bills, invoices and receipts attesting to repairs and maintenance carried out over the years.

The car also comes with a pack of books and manuals, and an MoT certificate - with no advisories - that’s valid until 4.2.25.
 

We can safely say that this car has never been used by Lara Croft or anyone else attempting to emulate her dare-devil exploits.

It wouldn’t recognise a boulder field, a peat bog or a river crossing if you showed it pictures of them.

No, throughout its life this car has been carefully curated, preserved, looked after and, latterly, owned as part of a private collection.

Hence its exceptional condition and low mileage.

It’s rare, it’s good, it’s here and it’s waiting for you to make a bid.

We are happy to offer this car for auction with an estimate in the range of £30,000 - £35,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays between 10am- 12pm or 2pm-4pm. To make a booking, please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, and read our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.