Land Rover 88 Classic Cars for Sale

With the Series I land-rover being retired in 1958, UK Automobile company Land Rover were working around the clock to produce a four-wheel drive capable of surpassing the highly successful Land-Rovers produced between '48 and '57. It didn't take the company a long-time to announce a successor though, the Series II debuted in 1958 and came in two flavours: the Land Rover 88 (88 inch or 220mm inch wheelbase) and the Land Rover 109 (109 inch or 280mm wheelbase). Unlike the Series I, the Series II Land Rover 88's production lasted just 3 brief years.

Land Rover 88: Model history

During its laconic 3 year life-time, the Land Rover 88 had 3 distinct variants. The first deviation sported a 4-speed manual, 2.0L inline-4 petrol engine. During this time, there was a short period of overlap between newer Series II Land Rover 88s and the older Series I editions. This was due to a dilemma caused by the excess Series I engines that were being left to rust. As a means of saving some funds, Land Rover decided to outfit base Series II Land Rover 88s with the older series I engines until the stock was depleted. The second model meanwhile did not use the older series engines and instead sported a far more powerful 2.25L inline-4 petrol engine. During this time, a 2.0L Inline-4 Diesel engine was also released, coupled with a 4-speed manual gearbox (also included with all other Land Rover 88 models of this series). Surprisingly, The 2.25L Land Rover 88 was the first vehicle to ever use a 2.25L petrol-fueled engine. This motor was capable of producing up to 72bhp, which was also approximately equal to that of the diesel variant. The smaller-engine 2.0L Land Rover 88s meanwhile retained the inferior 52bhp engine that was standard in defunct Series I machines.

Land Rover 88 vs the 109

Along with the Land Rover 88, the 109 variant was also in tandem production. The 109 differed from the Land Rover 88 due to its larger wheelbase. This meant it could be outfitted with up to 12 seats and could also travel longer distances while considerably over-encumbered. As a downside the 109 inch variant demanded a larger engine to provide adequate torque (With the typical Land Rover 88 engine being insufficient) at the cost of being less fuel-efficient. Despite this, the 109 inch variants were, for some reason, strangely cheaper than the Land Rover 88 at the time.

1961: The end of the proverbial road for the Land Rover 88

The appearance made by the Series IIA on the consumer market in 1961 effectively ended all hopes of the Land Rover 88 continuing production. Despite very few cosmetic differences, the Series IIA was hailed as the hardiest of all 20th century Land Rovers and a more than worthy successor to one of the UKs greatest ever 4-wheel drives.