Todd Christie’s Land Rover may not look like a traditional Land Rover at first glance and that is by design.
He bought the Land Rover Discovery in Invercargill about three years ago.
He bought it from a group that wanted to modify the vehicle to be the benchmark for other 4WDs.
They originally built it as a promotional vehicle but then Mr Christie got it.
‘‘They did that and so far every time I’ve driven it I’ve broken it, he said.
‘‘That’s probably more the driving than the truck.’’ The vehicle was always a work in progress, he said.
‘‘I’ve just finished upgrading all the diffs, put a locker in the back and a air system on it. It’s just a constant work in progress. [I’m] always trying to make it bigger and better.
Mr Christie competed in the Southern Trail Blazers 4WD rally on Saturday. However, the truck was built primarily for winch challenges, he said.
‘‘It’s a different style of driving to what we do at [the rally].
‘‘The truck doesn’t really lend itself to the style of the rally but I’m working on it.’’
In a winch challenge the 4WDs are equipped with winches so if they did not quite drive up over, or through, whatever obstacles they come across, the winch could get the vehicle back on firm ground as fast as possible.
His favourite feature of the truck was the noise it made, he said.
‘‘It makes good V8 noises. That’s the most important part.’’
The Southern Trail Blazers 4WD Club held its 42nd annual 4WD rally at the Hellier family farm near Pukerau on Saturday.
The Ensign’s Ben Andrews was there to capture the action.
Organiser Todd Christie said the event drew 30 entries.
‘‘I want to extend a big thanks to our sponsors and the landowners,’’ Mr Christie said.
He had been the event organiser for the past 10 years, he said.
