2025 Milner LRM-1 V8 Comp Safari Rally

Starting out as a panel beater repairing cars in the outbuildings of the small family farm, the late David Simmonite bought his first Land Rover for £45 and, after spending some time restoring it to a good standard, received over 50 phone calls for it when it came up for sale! Recognising the demand, he continued to buy and sell Land Rovers over the years and realising the difficulty in obtaining parts, David opened Bradford-based Simmonites in 1963. The business grew and Simmonites was the first company to specialise in refurbishing ex-Army Land Rovers and offering bespoke examples. Today Simmonites is co-owned by Mark Calzoni who has been with the company for over 30 years and a glance at their website illustrates the company's depth of knowledge of the LR Marque gleaned from over 58 years experience.

Brand new and straight out of their ‘Motorsport’ stable is Simonites LRM-1 Comp Safari Rally, inspired by the recent successes of Land Rover’s Evoque in rally-raid events, most notably the gruelling Dakar Rally. Today’s equivalent of a Group B rally car, it was professionally built in 2025 to 4/5ths scale by Milner Off Road Racing & Simmonites Ltd, and completed to MSA standards with a remarkable attention to detail, being rewarded with a Merit Award at a recent event held at the Gaydon Heritage Centre.

The LRM-1 is a highly engineered fast-road rally vehicle and naturally has an enormous specification, too long to list here, but the key aspects are below:

• Fully jig-built 'spaceframe' from CDS Tubing and powder-coated to finish
• Custom-built Evoque-style bodywork to 4/5th scale and finished in Land Rover Orkney Grey Metallic
• LS3 6.2-litre, rear mounted V8 generating c.525hp, full alloy sump guards front to rear
• Long-travel coil-over suspension and a full stainless steel exhaust system
• Multi-plate clutch mated to a 5-speed Tremec TK600 gearbox with reverse rotation transfer box, limited-slip diffs front and rear
• Heavy duty driveshafts, CNC fabricated uprights and differential housings
• 6-pot front brake callipers with WRC380MM vented and 4-pot callipers to rear housed within a set of 20" Land Rover alloy wheels shod with low profile Continental tyres, all controlled by electric power steering
• Equipped with lightweight alloy fuel tank, Bosch fuel pumps, alloy radiator with twin electric fans and competition wiring harness by Simtek
• Programable electronic dash, Corbeau race seats with TRS harnesses (FIA), heated screen, Lexon side windows, custom made flocked dashboard and LED lights

Currently set up as a road car, this Milner LRM-1 is neither road registered or MSA certified, offering its first owner the choice of obtaining MSA Competition papers or UK-registering the car with the DVLA (once the relevant approvals are in place) as a rather remarkable road car.