Motoring: Simple love

I recently met a gentleman of Dorset who kindly showed me his car collection. It included an Austin Champ, the Jeep look-alike in service with the military 1954–66. Originally intended as an alternative to the Land Rover, it couldn’t hack it alongside Solihull’s finest — less adaptable, less reliable, more complex, twice as expensive. Yet it is now something of a cult car.

It’s a big butch bruiser, with a high bonnet like a shaven head about to butt you. Rigorously utilitarian, many examples were shorn of any comfort or convenience (roofs, windows, doors) but they sprouted plenty of extras, including mountings for your .303 Vickers or .30 Browning. They had a 2,838cc Rolls-Royce engine, could be driven underwater to a depth of six-feet-six and had five reverse gears to match the five forward. Suspension was by Alec Issigonis, progenitor of the Morris Minor and the Mini. Eccentric touches included a slim metal pipe with a screw top protruding from the engine and containing the service history on a scroll of paper.