Perhaps the coolest celebrity car in the world: Bear Grylls’ Gulf War buggy

Sometimes the classic car market produces something fascinating. There were the legendary Alfa Romeo BAT prototypes from the 1950s, which were auctioned a few years ago as part of an art auction (for an incredible price).

And sometimes something very bizarre comes onto the market. Recently, for example, the Lamborghini from ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ was completely destroyed (although the expected minimum bid of 1.5 million was not met).

In this market, the attractiveness of a car is the sum of: the vehicle itself – and its origin. If it can be proven that a Bugatti from the 1930s took part in a certain race, its value increases several times over. Was a car used in a famous movie, same thing. If a car belonged to a celebrity…yeah, you get the idea.

When a former celebrity’s car comes up for sale, it’s usually a luxury sports car like Rod Stewart’s Lamborghini Countach or something in the luxury class like Elvis’s Stutz Blackhawk.

The celebrity is the former SAS soldier, survival specialist and TV star Bear Gryllsthen the car in question is this:

That, dear users, is called a Ricardo Longline Light Strike vehicle. And yes, it is official military equipment. It even took part in a war. This car was purchased by the special forces in 1991 SAS used as part of Operation Granby (this was the name of the part of the military operations carried out by the British forces in the first Gulf War).

It was decommissioned in 1997 and sold about ten years later to a former SAS soldier named Bear Grylls, who restored the car to its original Gulf War condition.

With this Ricardo Longline Light Strike vehicle This is therefore an (extremely rare) example of the type of vehicle favored by special forces since the Second World War. Small and fast, it is designed to operate as a reconnaissance vehicle behind enemy lines, while being sufficiently armed if its occupants need to defend themselves if the need arises.

A bit of a military version of a dune buggy, the Longline LSV has an exposed tubular chassis with mounting points that allow air transport by helicopter. Like California’s Baja buggies, it’s powered by a modified VW engine – in this case it’s the indestructible 1.9 L boxer engine from the Volkswagen T25 transporter, driving all four wheels (yes, this thing has all-wheel drive ).

Depending on the terrain, speeds of over 100 km/h are possible. The Longline also has a full-length underrun protection to protect the mechanical components.

Weapon options at the time included a heavy machine gun, a grenade launcher or the MILAN anti-tank missile system.

Street legal and fully roadworthy, this Longline LSV is back in its historically correct Gulf War camouflage and equipped with the historically correct 50 caliber Browning heavy machine gun (the official deactivation certificate is included).

As mentioned above, such provenance contributes significantly to the increase in value. Princess Diana’s Ford Escort recently changed hands for around R780,000. This former celebrity car is yours for…

… 38,000 francs! Same as a VW Golf, approximately. But SO MUCH COOLER. Come on, HERE you can buy it!