Only Land Rover folk make hour-long videos on how to change a tyre. And only Land Rover folks watch them.

This long-wheelbase 1966 Land Rover Series II-A was restored to accommodate motorcycle transport. It has a Land Rover 2.25-liter gas engine and a Series III four-speed manual. The original truck, a fire engine that had been out of commission for decades, received a meticulous, 1,000-hour, ground-up reconstruction.

“This was His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama’s personal daily transportation for 10 years between 1966 and 1976 in Dharamsala, India. Although the Dalai Lama never personally drove the car, he did spend a lot of time in the passenger seat. By the time the Land Rover Series IIA was restored in 2006/2006 it had covered almost 70,000 miles. Many of these miles occurred in India, Nepal, and throughout the Himalayas where the vehicle’s low range 4×4 capabilities doubtless came in useful.”

“The Dalai Lama took delivery of his Land Rover fresh from the factory in 1966, as a Series IIA (also called the Land Rover Series 2A) it’s fitted with an inline-4, 2.25 litre petrol engine that was famous for its hardiness and reliability if properly maintained.” (Story)

The truck is due to come up for public sale for the first time in over 10 years with RM Sotheby’s on the 29th of August. The price estimate is between $100,000 and $150,000