Bob Marley’s battered Range Rover could sell at UK auction for £150k

• 1980 Range Rover is said to be one of two owned and cherished by Bob Marley
• In a dilapidated condition, it has smashed windows and the engine in the boot
• Experts say it is ‘ripe for restoration’ – collectors might not want to tamper with it

A battered and rusting 1980 Range Rover is being touted to sell for a six-figure sum at a UK auction next month – and it’s all because experts believe it was formerly owned by one of the biggest icons of the music industry.

The beaten-up SUV is thought to have been the pride and joy of legendary reggae star, Bob Marley.

Purported to be one of two Land Rovers he owned, Classic Car Auctions (CCA) says the former luxury motor has been obtained via an agent who dealt directly with the Marley family. 

Despite having a smashed windscreen, more scratches than a well-used Bob Marley LP and an engine that’s currently loaded into the boot rather than under the bonnet, experts believe it could be worth around £150,000 when the hammer drops. 

The car will be offered to the highest bidder on 25 March at the Practical Classics Classic Car and Restoration Show Sale held at the NEC in Birmingham.

It will be sold without reserve. 

CCA says the Range Rover was originally shipped to Marley from the Solihull factory via Germany to Jamaica. 

It was later regularly transported between the UK and Jamaica during the singer’s ownership.

The 43-year-old vehicle would have been a purchase made at the same time as the publication of his ‘Redemption Song – Uprising’ which appeared in 1980, just one year before his death in 1981.

Originally finished in Masai Red, the paint that does remain on its panels today is a mixture of black, green and blue, having supposedly been used as a canvas by some of Bob’s eleven children. 

The auction house describes it as a ‘collage of Range Rover parts’.  

The odometer shows it covering 62,920 miles from new and the original registration document, when found, apparently bore the name ‘Robert Nesta Marley’. 

While the auction house says the motor is ‘ripe for restoration’, a Marley enthusiast bidding on the vehicle might want to not tamper with it and retain the Rangey in the currently condition.

Simon Langsdale of CCA sourced the car. 

He said pristine examples of first-generation Range Rovers are selling for huge sums of around £130,000 today, but having Bob Marley’s name to this vehicle could see it far exceed even those top end prices.

With a celebrity surcharge of around 20 per cent, this could see the value of the car hit £158,000, he hints.

‘We are delighted to be offering this ex-Bob Marley Range Rover at public auction,’ he said.

‘This unique opportunity to purchase not only an early suffix example, but one with history linked to the legendary reggae star – I am sure it will attract huge interest. 

‘Fully restored examples have sold for as much as £130,000 in recent years; but with a celebrity link that can add up to 20 per cent in value so this is a great investment option. 

‘But for a true Bob Marley fan who is also a petrolhead, owning this Range Rover will be something beyond price and is a once in a lifetime opportunity.’

Classic car valuations experts at Hagerty say the value of a ‘concours’ condition (meaning it would be good enough to be on display) 1980 Range Rover is £63,600, based on recent auction sales and known examples to have changed hands privately.