1993 Land Rover 110 Panama Snatch

The Panama is a ‘Snatch’ Land Rover that was modified for use in hostile environments such as Afghanistan. Usually towed behind something like a Buffalo MRAP (Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected) it could also be driven via remote-control over short distances to explore suspicious packages and environments.

Fitted with some very clever mine-detecting equipment on the front, each one is aid to have cost the MoD a quarter-of-a-million pounds – but then better to blow up £250,000-worth of metal than a soldier, eh?

And there is a lot of metal there; they might have been based on the obsolete SN2A Snatch Land Rover – around 200 of which were awaiting disposal at the time – but they were heavily reworked before undertaking their new role.

Using a Land Rover Defender as a base had many benefits besides the ready availability of obsolete models. As Lieutenant Colonel Adrian Parker of the Royal Engineers said at the time: "There is a whole generation of technicians who are trained in their maintenance. There is a supply chain for the parts, all the manuals are written and all those thousands of parts are already codified to NATO standards.” He went on to say that soldiers could learn to use the vehicle’s remote-controlled capability in just one hour.

The Panama went into service in 2011, most were lost in their sacrificial role or never returned from the combat field. and there are only thought to be a handful in the civilian world. Including this one, which is one of the most interesting vehicle we’ve had through our hands so far.

It is also being offered with no reserve, so you might just be able to get your hands on one of the coolest Land Rovers of them all for a pittance.

The bodywork is in ‘as found’ condition, so is battle-scarred (quite literally…) and all the better for being so. There appears to be a safety cell for the driver and passenger with what looks to be 15mm composite on the doors, roof and bulkhead, which should make for a safe space for to shelter in when your significant other finds out what you’ve bought.

The windows are reinforced too, and they sport what are either sodding great stonechips or bullet marks. Let’s agree the latter, shall we for extra cool points?

The original roof turret is there for your kids to shout abuse at other drivers in traffic jams, and there’s various bits of camouflage netting for when you need to run away and hide afterwards.

The front bumper that used to hold the mine detecting equipment is still there and it’s so sturdy we think you could hit a moose at full-speed without lifting.

The rear is equally purposeful, featuring the original military recovery and towing pintle/hitch as well as a useful rear step.

Look, the interior was designed for safety rather than comfort, so while I’d happily hide in there from an angry husband, I’m not sure it would be my first choice for a run down to the south of France.

Having said that, it does have an Eberspacher industrial air-conditioning unit powerful enough to combat Afghanistan-type temperatures while wearing body armour – and it still works, so swings-and-roundabouts, eh?

Other than that, what can we say? It’s going to need work. But that’s where the fun is, isn’t it? Dials aren’t exactly necessary when it’s operated by a squaddie 20 yards behind.

Originally fitted with an automatic gearbox, this one has been re-engined and fitted with a manual gearbox to get it running. While it isn’t road-registered, it starts, runs and drives well.

The original automatic gearbox gearlever is in the back, along with some of the remote-control mechanism. We wouldn’t know where to begin to assess how much remains, so please do come and see it to make your own assessment if this element is important to you.

The underside looks to be solid and largely rust-free, and the exhaust appears new.

The Snatch doesn’t come with any paperwork except the all-important confirmation that it can be road registered, once road-legal.

This confirms that the ‘TRUCK UTY MED (HS) W/VPK 24V (WITH ACU) REFURBISHED 2005 had the registration number 25KK69 and was delivered into service with the Ministry of Defence on the 10th of November 1992.

(And if any of you are smirking at the thought of owning a ‘Snatch’ with ‘69’ in its original registration number you should be ashamed of yourselves…)

It has some keys, some of which probably still do something.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

Oh, and the vendor of this and the six-wheel Defender also in auction, is an ex-serviceman who runs HX Motors, a business he started to help other ex-service personnel. If you’d like to take a look at what he does – and you should as he’s a bloody legend – then please go to: http://www.hxmotors.co.uk

Buying this makes no sense whatsoever - but that’s not going to stop you, is it?

In which case we salute you. Never before in the field of human endeavour has this much cool been available for so little money. You are almost certainly never going to run into another one (although if you did that would be one hell of an accident…) and summer runs to somewhere like Caffeine and Machine would almost certainly trigger an actual stampede.

Yes, it needs some work (actually, quite a lot of work) but then we think it’ll only sell for between £8,000 and £16,000, which is a pitifully small sum for such an interesting, and important, part of British military history.

Even better, it’s being offered with no reserve so will sell from the very first bid, no matter how derisory that might be.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment 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, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.