Good morning! To start off this week, I have a very rare SUV for you, and its more modern and more common equivalent. Both are meant to bring a bit of luxury to the hinterlands, and either one will do immeasurable damage to your wallet should something go wrong. But at least you’ll go broke in style.
On Friday, we didn’t do a poll; on “track, daily, burn” days I technically could put a poll up, but it would have nine entries, and even I would have trouble keeping it all straight. Instead, I figure it’s just easier if you all talk it out in the comments. From the sounds of it, the Jaguar and the Flex battled it out for daily driver status, while more often than not, the poor Land Rover ended up in flames.
Well, as I’ve said before, being wrong is your right. The correct answer, for the record, is to track (off-road) the Freelander, daily-drive the comfy Jag, and burn the Ford station wagon with a bazillion miles, because it’s just a Ford station wagon with a bazillion miles and I just can’t get excited about it, at least in comparison to the other two.
Moving on: Most of the cars I feature on here are my own discoveries, but if someone else tips me off about a car, I like to give credit where credit is due. Over the weekend, a young user over at Opposite Lock named Sam Blockhan posted a bunch of cars found in various corners of the web, and among them was a Laforza. More to the point, a cheap, running Laforza. How could I resist? So once again, I doff my cap to you, Sam. Keep ’em coming. You’re like a bloodhound, sniffing out the weird cars.
But what to put up against it? There was only one answer, and Sam and I both arrived at it: a Range Rover. I found one for the same price, and in similar condition. Let’s check them out.
1989 Laforza – $6,500
Engine/drivetrain: 5.0 liter overhead valve V8, four-speed automatic, part-time 4WD
Location: Escondido, CA
Odometer reading: 39,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well, has been in storage for a while
What the hell, you ask, is a Laforza? Perhaps you know it better by its European name, the Rayton-Fissore Magnum. That doesn’t ring a bell either? All right: the Laforza was an Italian-made, Ford-powered competitor to the Range Rover, built for nearly twenty years in various forms. It’s built like a tank, almost literally; the basic mechanical design is taken from an Italian Iveco military truck. It was pretty advanced for its time, with independent torsion-bar front suspension and rack-and-pinion steering, with a live rear axle on leaf springs for simplicity and strength.
In Europe, the Magnum was available with a variety of smaller engines, both gas and diesel, from Fiat, Alfa Romeo, BMW, and VM Motori. But when it came to the US as the Laforza, there was only one powerplant: Ford’s 302 cubic inch Windsor V8. It drives all four wheels through a Ford AOD automatic and a dual-range transfer case. Like Cadillac’s Allante, the body was built by Pininfarina in Italy, then shipped to the US for engine and drivetrain installation–but I don’t think Laforza had the budget for special airplanes to handle the transport like GM did.
The Laforza’s claim to fame was its ultra-luxurious interior, crammed full of leather and wood and power doodads. This one has held up to the years all right, though it’s a little grubby, and it looks like the rearview mirror is sitting in the passenger’s seat. No word on how many of the power doodads still work, but it’s a thirty-five-year-old coachbuilt Italian car, for sale for only sixty-five hundred bucks, so the odds of everything being fully functional aren’t great.
It does run and drive well, according to the seller, and it has new tires. Someone also outfitted it with a winch, a roof rack, and what looks like a couple inches of lift. It has been off the road for a couple of years, the seller tells us, but is on non-op status with the California DMV, so there aren’t any back fees to worry about.
2008 Range Rover Supercharged – $6,500
Engine/drivetrain: Supercharged 4.2 liter dual overhead cam V8, six-speed automatic, 4WD
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Odometer reading: 116,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Before the Laforza, there was the Range Rover. These days, luxury SUVs are a dime a dozen, but in the beginning, there was only one. Yeah, sure, you could get a pretty nice Wagonner, or Eddie Bauer Bronco, but they weren’t the same. This third-generation Range Rover took the leap from solid axles to independent air suspension and introduced Land Rover’s “Terrain Response System,” sort of a traction control system on steroids, from what I understand, as well as a whole bunch of other bells and whistles.
This generation of Range Rover was designed while BMW was at the helm, but survived the transition to Ford’s ownership. As a Ford-era car, this one is powered by a Jaguar AJ V8, in this case supercharged. It runs and drives great, according to the seller. The air shocks were replaced recently, and they say everything works perfectly–and “everything” on a Range Rover is quite a lot.
It’s in good condition inside, though not perfect–there is a little wear on the driver’s seat and door panel. But for the price, it’s mighty clean. And if all those buttons and knobs and screens really do work as designed, bonus.
The outside is nice and clean as well, and the styling of this generation of Range Rover has aged really well, I think. But why are they always black?
So on the one hand, we’ve got a rare one-of-about-1,200 Italian/American oddity from the ’80s, and on the other, a British classic updated with a little help from Germany and America. In both cases, the $6,500 price tag is only the beginning; they’ll both need lots of care and feeding. Which one is more worth it to you?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
If you combine the two of these together you get the P38 Range Rover, which is the correct answer here.
I’ll take the unique Laforza since we hardly see them on here, it looks good inside and out, it’s built like a tank, and is not a Range Rover
Agreed on the L322 Range Rover and how well the basic design has aged. I’d love one, and I trust the current and prior owners who’ve posted here about their decent experiences with theirs … but the Laforza is too intriguing, and the beating heart of a Mustang GT gives me hope that it could be easily kept on the road.
We’ll take the Italian, let some air out of the lift, and un-Moab the outside.
Range Rover. The Laforza is interesting, and I’ve seen a few in person to confirm that it is interesting, but not interesting enough for me to want to own.
Laforza is more interesting and I haven’t seen one in years, but that particular one sounds too sketchy. RR, a little clean up, and back out the door to someone with a history of poor life choices that feels the need to think they’re impressing other people by driving a vehicle with a high end name.
My distrust of Italian automobiles outweighs my distrust of British automobiles.
This is an easy battle for the Land Rover to win. And a statement that, at the point in time that this listing was posted, that “everything” works on it means that it’s sufficiently mechanically sound that someone invested in keeping it running – so it’s genuinely a keeper.
Laforzas may be quite out of the ordinary to most folks, but here in the San Diego area they can definitely be found. I believe that’s because the importer was based in Carlsbad so there’s a significantly larger concentration of them here, particularly in North County San Diego, than anywhere else in the US. The example in this article is also local in Escondido.
I dig Laforzas, and if I had mad money I’d even consider having one as a toy. The Ford powertrain helps, and if one isn’t too precious about complete originality this would be a fun low mileage toy to take out to the desert or up to the mountains.
Honestly the Rover isn’t bad either, it’s just that I have a particular thing for the Laforza.
the Italian Ford Exploder for the win here. both might need work on a regular basis at this point, and the laforza Bespoke Pars might be somewhat difficult to source, but I have a strong feeling not much is all that bespoke here.
The LaForza sitting in my driveway is proof of my choice!
But that weird rear bumper extension on this one is hideous, and I’m not certain how or why you would lift a LaForza – they are huge and very high off the ground stock.
You already have one? C’mon: you gotta tell us about it—successes & failures, and any cool Easter eggs you found!
Driving: You sit very high in a giant throne of a seat, look out over all that thick square sheet metal, and feel like the king of the world. On the highway it is quiet and comfortable, easily cruising at 75-80. The brakes are excellent, the steering is accurate and light, and the short wheelbase makes it very maneuverable. The ride is pretty harsh in town, but the ultra comfy seats and lovely interior make up for it. Unfortunately it is very soft in roll, making off ramps unnerving.
The good: Every part of the chassis and body feels massive and overbuilt, more mid size truck than SUV. A Suburban seems frail in comparison. Mechanically mine has been largely trouble free, and thanks to the LaForza facebook group, parts and repair information are reasonably available.
The bad: The electricals are very 80s Italian. Even with an upgrade kit the power windows are very very slow. The tailgate can only be opened with a solenoid operated by a button in the middle of the dash, which is every bit as inconvenient and unreliable as you might guess. Every major problem I have had has been due to the inadequate and often incoherent wiring. General build quality is mixed… the materials are excellent and everything feels solid, but the panel gaps are legendary and nothing inside is assembled all that evenly.
Easter eggs? The windshield was shared with an Iveco armored car and is supposed to be bullet resistant. It shares door handles with the Lancia Delta integrale. There are pictures of them at Pininfarina being assembled next to the Lamborghini Countach.
Awesome & comprehensive reply: thanks much!
(now I regret voting against it cause the LaForza sounds like real fun)
“Ask the man who owns one,” as the old Packard ads said. Thanks for sharing!
The Range Rover for me. It’s likely to be a better vehicle in every way and have better parts/service availability
The Laforza has a much higher novelty factor… but that would only be a slam dunk if the design was actually beautiful.
It isn’t.
And just because it has a Ford 302 and automatic doesn’t mean there isn’t a bunch of other stuff on it that will be difficult/expensive to service or find parts for.
I’ve had a soft spot for a Range like that, but the LaForza is just simply too cool and oddball.
I had the 2008 Range Rover Supercharged for 14 years. Bought it new. It only had one warranty claim: the spring in the key fob. That was it! It never broke. I am a geologist and I go out in the field all the time, to really remote places and to mines on crummy roads. I sold it to a friend, who is still driving it, trouble free. It was really fast, got actually decent milage and super comfortable. It didn’t feel or sound like you where sitting in an empty tuna tin, like so many other off road vehicles. Apparently the 2008 and 2009 Supercharged RR’s had very high reliability, especially on the drivetrain.
Bottom line, it is a very, very capable off roader with actually decent reliability. Besides, you don’t look like a Jeepme taxi driver in Manila in the RR, like everybody else pretending to be an off-roader.
“And if all those buttons and knobs and screens really do work as designed, bonus.”
They may, at this moment. Check back in about an hour or two.
That Laforza on stilts and chrome wheels is a bad look. Take it back to stock with more appropriate wheels. That interior made me wince – a thorough cleaning is in order.
The masochist vote would have to lean towards the Rover. The Laforza, at this point, you can keep it alive with readily available parts for the most part from the drivetrain POV. Trim and switchgear may be tricky. I’m going Laforza, but only after that ridiculous stance is corrected and that inside is cleaned up.