Climbing aboard the Land Rover affectionately known as Huey, after being cosseted inside a luxurious, supercharged Range Rover V8, is nothing short of a culture shock. With no power assistance for anything, no soundproofing, no leather upholstery, no creature comforts whatsoever, this is motoring from a bygone era-and it's not easy.

There are some rudimentary instruments in the center of what barely passes for a dashboard, a couple of levers protruding from the bare metal floor, a measly leatherette seat squab between my butt and the fuel tank. It's slow off the mark, as one might expect from a 50-hp car built in 1948. It's noisy too. I can hear transmission whine and practically every valve, every piston, every lever doing its stuff. Changing gear elicits a thunk as metal meets metal and the next ratio is brought into play.  read more »