For sale, a go-anywhere V8 grunt, Army green

Lieutenant Bevan Guy inspects a Land Rover awaiting auction at Burnham Military Camp. Picture / Simon Baker

Searching for a family vehicle that can handle the rough and tumble of daily life? Have you considered what the New Zealand Army has to offer?

Ignore the cobwebs, rust and chipped paint - beneath their rough exteriors these V8 Land Rovers have reliably served the Army for more than 20 years and won't let your family down.

Available only in Army green, the vehicle's cloth canopy can be stripped away on hot days to allow the backseat troops to bask in the sun.

Previously used as mobile Army command posts and for carting soldiers and supplies, there's plenty of room in the back for the kids and the bare metal surfaces can take the toughest treatment.

Handy steel brackets attached to the rear for jerry cans, plus a 114-litre fuel capacity, mean that backcountry outing will never be cut short.

Close-up previews are limited, unless you can get into one of the country's two Army bases where the Land Rovers are waiting for auction day next month. And you would be well advised to come with plenty of cash if the early interest is anything to go by.

Collectors, farmers and cross-country enthusiasts are expected to turn up in their droves for auctions to be held at Linton and Burnham military camps - and stock is limited.

About 100 of the vehicles must sell to make way for the Army's new generation of "light operational vehicles" in the form of Pinzgauer trucks and Nissan Navaras.

Locked away in an asphalt yard at Canterbury's Burnham Military Camp are 30 or so of the unwanted Land Rovers and companion trailers that look as though they have been out of action for a while.

A large orange "A" spray-painted on the vehicles mark them as fit for auction.

An Army spokesman escorting the Herald tyre-kicker around the vehicles reckons just about everyone in the Army has been behind the wheel of these sturdy off-roaders at one time or another. He concedes some are in better shape than others.

On a randomly selected Land Rover, the door sticks slightly as it swings opens with a screech to reveal a dim, dusty interior. After wiping water from the driver's seat, slipping inside one of the vehicles is a blast from the past.

Sinking into the thick seat cushions, the oversized steering wheel and long stick-shift loom large beneath a windscreen obscured by heavy water stains.

There are no mod-cons here. Panels have been stripped away from the console and a thick layer of dust has settled on the clunky gauges and switches.

The spokesman demonstrates the "air con" by sliding back a side window panel.

All the features you need, right? The folk in uniform look forward to seeing you at auction.