The record
In the 1950s two young Canadians set out on an extraordinary journey around the world. The expedition was the vision of Bristol Foster, a biologist and ecologist, who invited his friend Robert Bateman, the artist and naturalist, to join him; together they mapped a route through some of the remotest terrain on Earth. To make it possible they commissioned a custom-built Land Rover Series I 107-inch with coachbuilt station-wagon bodywork, which they nicknamed Grizzly Torque. Over the next 14 months they travelled through 19 countries across four continents, painting, filming and photographing the people and wildlife they met and collecting specimens; the countries and a frieze of Bateman's animal paintings still run along the body sides, with GIN & and TONIC on the two jerrycans flanking the grille and WAC 337 on the plate. After the pair returned to Canada the vehicle was sold and disappeared from view until it was rediscovered in British Columbia; once its history came to light the new owner began an extensive restoration, and Land Rover Classic showed it in its 75-year history of expedition vehicles at the 2025 Pebble Beach Concours.
The registry's model puts its Lomas-style coachbuilt body on a Series I front, with the roof lettering, animal frieze, front jerrycans, bonnet spare and plate from the photograph.
