Lots of people would love to have a V8 Land Rover or may already do so. But there are different ways this can be managed. 

On the one hand, you may have lots of money to part with and buy a new model. Among those you can currently buy directly from Land Rover, the ‘cheapest’ is the Discovery Sport at £43,445. At the other end of the range, the Defender Octa will set you back £145,300.

This is a point you might make to anyone who questions why your favourite hobby might involve long hours in the garage in oily overalls, carrying out a V8 rebuild that will ultimately provide endless enjoyment from the roads to muddy fields in the countryside.

Of course, there are other options. Another one for those with money to burn is to pick up a used Land Rover at auction, perhaps one associated with a famous person. A recent example of this was the 6.2-litre V8-powered Defender 110 owned by film director and former husband to Madonna, Guy Ritchie.

This vehicle commanded a price of £84,375 in a sale of expensive cars, which, the Evening Standard informed us, was around £20,000 more than the price paid for another celebrity lot, a Ferrari Dino GT4 once owned by Chris Rea. (Whether he has ever driven home for Christmas in it wasn’t disclosed).

Other Land Rovers auctioned off this year included a military vehicle made for the late Queen Elizabeth II, with a handrail to enable her to stand up when inspecting troops. No doubt there will be lots more unusual and exciting models for sale next year.

However, what some folk just don’t realise is that for many Land Rover enthusiasts, celebrity means little – except for the bottomless pockets many of them have, while most Land Rover lovers don’t.

By contrast, those who are not made of money but have some to spend can make up the gap with their own labour of love, rebuilding a Land Rover to create something that might not be worth auctioning off for a fortune, but will be a great source of joy nonetheless.