1997 Range Rover HSE Auto

The V5C tells us that this car had just one owner from new and that the owner in question was Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, better-known to all who loved him and his music as... George Michael.

The car has been brought to us by George’s father Kyriakos Panayiotou who, continuing his son’s spirit of generosity, has decided that the proceeds of the sale will go to MacMillan Cancer Support.

The car has been stored in a compound for many years and, although the chassis and bodywork look to be in pretty decent, solid condition as far as we can tell, the car now has project status.

The car takes electrical energy throughout, and the dashboard electronics, electric windows and ICE all appear to work. 

However, there are numerous warning lights in evidence on the dashboard display, including one stating ‘gearbox’ and another with an icon of a car raised on a ramp – a symbol we interpret as meaning ‘Get this vehicle into a workshop sooner rather than later’.

Now, it might be that these messages don’t point to anything particularly significant.

And it might be that they do.

We don’t know.

Either way, the car’s ECU has acted upon these warnings and decided that it won’t allow the car to be started or the engine turned over.

This car is really very original, unrestored and authentic.

The bodywork, though far from pristine, is reassuringly free of any dents, dinks, creases, ripples folds or other aberrations of consequence.

The wheels are reasonable, too, and while they would no doubt benefit from being refurbished, they’re by no means overly shabby or beyond redemption.

The tyres, though, are undoubtedly rather long in the tooth.

The car’s grey paintwork has fared rather less well, and we think you’ll be able to find scratches, scuffs, stone chips and patches of missing paint on every panel.

Scuffs and scrapes are most in evidence on the bonnet, and a little surface rust has crept into the some of the spaces vacated by the dark grey paint.

While we couldn’t find any obvious bubbling or flaking on the bodywork itself, we found plenty on the mud-flap holders and frames.

Elsewhere, the black plastic exterior trim has succumbed to pressure from UV light and faded to grey.

The lights, lenses and badging are all looking rather time-worn and, indeed, the ‘Range Rover’ badging on the tailgate has gone AWOL altogether.

The privacy glass is in good order, and knowing whose privacy it was designed to protect only serves to give the car an even more tangible connection to its superstar owner.

The car has 83,000 miles on the clock and, in general, the condition is good for the car’s mileage and, indeed, its age.

The black leather upholstery is pretty decent all-round and the only real signs of wear we’ve found are on the outer bolster of the driver’s seat – but it’s really no more than you’d expect to find on a car of this age and mileage.

The headlining is the glaring exception to the condition report and it is variously dirty, stained, baggy, hanging down or unattached in numerous places.

The door cards in the front are fine, but the fabric sections are separating from their plastic surrounds on the door cards in the rear.

The carpets and mats seem to have survived the passage of time with plenty of stoicism.

There are some scuffs, marks and patches of sticky residue atop the dashboard but, for the most part, the rest of the dashboard, centre console, steering wheel, gear selector and other controls all look to be in good order.

We can’t make any claims about the functionality of switches, knobs, levers, toggles, buttons, dials or other electrics as we haven’t started or driven the vehicle.

The engine bay is a little dusty and has the general appearance of a space that hasn’t seem much action over the course of the last decade.

That said, everything appears to be in its right and proper place, as far as we can tell.

The undersides of the car seem to us to have a decent amount of structural integrity and we’ve seen nothing to make us tut or frown excessively.

Clearly, you’ll want to take a look and reach your own conclusion.

We know with absolute certainty that this car belonged to George Michael from new and has never been registered in any other name.

We also know that it has much of the last decade or laid-up and inactive.

Beyond that, we really don’t know very much at all, as there’s no trail of invoices, bills or receipts to follow, and no recorded service history.

It comes with a pack of manuals, a V5C and a recent, clear HPI report.

On the face of it, this is just a 1997 Range Rover 4.6 HSE that’s light on history, hasn’t been driven for years and, cosmetically, has seen better days.

But that’s all pretty much irrelevant, because this car belonged to one of the most famous and successful recording artists the world has ever known.

You’ll have seen the number plate that comes with the car – H11 YOG.

‘Yog’ was the nickname given to Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou. That's why it is on this car.  A car that was bought new by George Michael in 1997 and stayed with him and his family throughout the course of his life.

Yes, it’s a bit of a project and, no, it’s not a purchase that’s entirely risk-free.

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 try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.