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Black Landrover

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Anonymous

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Every week day I drive the same route, my route takes me along the A5 (Watling street) I am only on that road for a short distance (Between Hinckley and Atherstone) It was about 17:30 and the traffic was quite heavy as you can guess. I was sitting stationary in a long line of cars, when I saw a Land Rover "Freelander" driving in the other direction. It was driving slowly because of the volume of traffic, so I had plenty of time to get a look at it. It was the five door model. the first thing that struck me as odd was the colour. It was a VERY matt black, there were no surfaces that were not black. the whole car was de-badged, the windows were very blacked out (all of the windows - not legal in the UK) the lights including indicators and reflectors were blacked out. The car had no number plates front or rear. even the wheels were a dark anthracite colour. th first thing that crossed my mind was that I was near MIRA. I often see cars being road tested from MIRA, they are often disguised with padding and covers. but they are always road legal, they always have number plates for example (sometimes some foreign ones) the car turned my head, but only the driver in front of me seemed to notice, he turned his head, but no other drivers appeared to be bothered. I now regret not asking the driver in front of me to pull over. but I only thought about that later.
 
Perhaps this is the new, more modern, version of the black dog. Did the machine have enormous red headlights?

Yes, I'm getting my coat.
 
But why would any covert operation draw attemtiom to themselves with an obviously illegal car? And how were they supposed to drive in the dark with blacked-out lights? Or indicate braking or turning? Did you notice a tax disc?
So my feeling is that it was for a film or TV scene, or an ad. Did you look around for a video camera?
 
I didn't look for a camera, but even if someone was filming the car for some reason, the car was on the road and should be in a legal condition. I understand the comments about the lack of features such as numberplate, taxdisk drawing attemtion to the car. I dont claim to know what the car was doing and who was driving it, I have run out of ideas. I am pretty sure that it wasn't car modifiers (eg, boyracers) because the modifications done to the freelander dont go along with current trends (except for the blacked out windows) also, the police dont take kindly to car modifiers, and pull them over often for no reason at all, they then look to find anything wrong and then fine accordingly. many car modifiers go for illegal mods but dont often go this far.
 
leonardlizaaard, why don't you report your sighting to the police? It was an illegal vehicle, so you, as a law-abiding citizen, should inform the authorities. They'll very likely have video footage; at the very least, their reaction should tell you something.
FuManChu - there are always 'security incidents' shutting roads/motorways etc. that go unreported by the news people. There's a thread on here somewhere that deals with this - do a search on 'Manchester bombing'
 
Well, it's legal to have blacked out windows, but the windscreen must not be tinted beyond a certain level. It's also legal to have blacked out lights and indicators, as long as extra-power bulbs are used and the light emitted doesn't drop significantly below the original level. And debadging etc. is perfectly OK. The only thing illegal was the lack of numberplates, which suggests that it was probably a test vehicle on a short trip from one testing ground to another.

Of course, it could just have been an idiot car owner! There was a guy around here (in his forties, no less, with a car worth £50K!) who did exactly the same thing to his car, including making his numberplate the size of a fag packet. I suppose he did it to make everyone think he was some sort of secret agent! Needless to say, it didn't have the desired effect!!!
 
Assuming that the description is accurate, I'm forced to go with the "plonker" theory. By doing what it was doing, the vehicle was drawing attention to itself and was self-defeating if it was supposed to be covert.

Matt black may not even be a good low visibility colour for vehicles on the public highway if BT's experiences are anything to go by. The old grey (trendy designer) coloured vans that they drove in the early 90's were blamed for a number of accidents in which other road users failed to notice them. An analysis at the time showed that they did a damn good job of meeting a low visibility criteria.
 
Fu, fair point, but one of the problems with vehicles is the windscreen. In order to function correctly this needs to be a smooth piece of glass. Unfortunately this means that no matter how "smoked/tinted" it is, it will generate specular reflections and look very different to the "VERY matt black" of the rest of the vehicle. As the windscreen is a pretty key locator on a vehicle (of the driver, for example,) the difficulty in obscuring this will have an impact on the overall effectievnees of the scheme.

As perviously suggested, its a car bought by a plonker, modified by a plonker, and probably driven by a plonker. ;)
 
True. :)

Though, if you're going to have bullet proof glass, then you are also likely to incorporate armour into the rest of the vehicle, thus possibly negating the requirement for a totally uniform appearance.

The whole thing draws too much attention to itself. (It's managed to get itself talked about on the FT MB after all. ;) )

Leonard, how dark was it when you saw the car?
 
You're driving on the A5.... You see a blacked out Range Rover.... Knowing the people that live along that stretch of road, it just surprises me that it caught your eye at all.
I live just outside of Towcester, which is on the A5, just before the Kettering Roundabout, and I've seen no end of unusual vehicles. Mainly because it is a gnats whisker away from Silverstone. The Landrover that I think you are talking about is owned by someone who shops in Tesco on Friday nights - I say that because I've seen it in the car park a couple of times - it normally has a personal plate starting with V and then some number between 1 and 20. Silverstone is used by loads of car manufacturers - the last Bentley was tested there, and a lot of the motors tested were made in Coventry, which is just up the A5.
Most of the test motors we see are either in old BMW 325's or Range Rovers, depending on the size of the engine blocks.
You can tell the test engines when an L reg 325 leaves you standing, and the number plate doesn't come up when arguing over a speed ticket......
 
About a month ago I was driving home along the Great North Road in Newcastle one dark rainy night. It was around 11pm and as I looked in my mirror I saw a fleet of black jeeps approaching me at very high speed.

When they passed me I remember shouting out a few expletitives to myself as they undertook me at very high speed and basically were driving like B**** maniacs. It was a 50mph zone and they must have been doing about 80 if not more.

There were about 3 or 4, all black, driving in convoy, and with very dark tinted windows. I thought they were Jeep Cherokees but my wife insists that they were Range Rovers (who am I to argue!). Can't remember much about their number plates but I seem to think they all had private plates which ran in sequence e.g. ABC1, ABC2

At the time we assumed they were either some kind of VIP escort or even some kind of military convoy, SAS or bomb squad. Wherever they were going they were certainly in a huge rush to get there. They were heading south towards the Tyne Bridge and possibly heading for the M1 motorway.

Never occurred to me that it might have been the Men In Black!
 
Fu, it cannot be done. It will suck you in. There is *no* escape. ;)
 
livingdaylights said:
At the time we assumed they were either some kind of VIP escort or even some kind of military convoy, SAS or bomb squad. Wherever they were going they were certainly in a huge rush to get there. They were heading south towards the Tyne Bridge and possibly heading for the M1 motorway.
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You'll easily recognise EOD (bomb squad) vehicles; they are usually large white lorries with blue lights and a flourescent stripe.
The SAS wouldn't be so obvious as to drive about in a blacked out vehicle. Probably more like the 'nondy' used by SO19, which is a scabby looking transit.
Probably a VIP of some description.
 
Sorry for not replying sooner, but I have been very busy lately.

Annasdottir there was no way I was going to report this to the police, do you really think that they would believe me, I am a young man and so they would probably think that I had been drinking or that i was under the influence of some sort of narcotic substance. They would most likely think that i was trying to waste their time. I admit that the most sensible solution is that the freelander was modified by a foolish person and is driven either by the same fool or someone even more foolish for buying the offending vehicle

I have seen many "different" motor cars coming from MIRA as mentioned earlier in the post, but they have always been "road legal" Anton La_Vey, i presume that all of the vehicles you have seen were road legal. I dont think that MIRA would send anything out in an illegal state because of the nature of their business. The vehicle might have been armoured but the armour wasn't visible. all of the pannels looked normal except for the paint job.

I couldn't remember the date earlier, but i did mention it to several friends the next day and we have come to the conclusion that the sighting was on Wednesday the 2nd of October 2002. at approximately 17:30. It was not dark at all outside and the weather was ok, i would definately have seen reflections in that level of light. The windscreen and all of the glass including the blacked out lights were in a matt finish too.
 
leonardlizaaard said:
It was not dark at all outside and the weather was ok, i would definately have seen reflections in that level of light. The windscreen and all of the glass including the blacked out lights were in a matt finish too.
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The problem is that a matt finish on the glass means that the surface of the glass would not be smooth. In order to act as a diffuse (matt) reflector, the glass would have a frosted preparation. As you can imagine, it is rather difficult to see clearly through frosted glass. (And the vehicle was being driven along a public road.) Are you *really* sure that the glass was matt? :)
 
leonardlizaaard said:
Annasdottir there was no way I was going to report this to the police, do you really think that they would believe me, I am a young man and so they would probably think that I had been drinking or that i was under the influence of some sort of narcotic substance. They would most likely think that i was trying to waste their time.
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Why make that assumption? (Unless you were under the influence at the time.) The police have to investigate every complaint, however foolish it appears - then charge you with wasting police time. It's highly likey that there is video footage of that piece of road. Heck, do it!
I was watching Dalzeil & Pascoe last night. There was a scene that involved the Armed Response police unit - they appeared in black Landrovers with blacked-out windows! These police series usually try to get the procedural details right, however improbable the plot (and D&P are hot contenders for the Midsomer Murders Cup for Unlikely Plotlines), so I would assume that is normal transport for this particular unit. However, the vehicles all had visible numberplates, and the windows were shiny and not matt.
 
Annasdottir, I have never taken narcotic substances and was not under the influence of alcohol at any time that day (and certainly never would be while driving!)

I have never dealt with any police officers other that my local ones, but my local police force, in my opinion (based on my friends, families and my own experience) are not as efficient as they could be. I could spend a lot of time packing out this thread with reports about my local police force, but please believe me that they are a waste of time. I will post details if anyone wishes. I consider myself to be a good natured member of the community and would usually report anything neccesary to the local constabulary. but I can't report this, they really would not take it seriously, please belive me.

Fortis, although I didn't have too long to stare at he glass, I am sure that it was matt black (the colour of unpolished black rubber) but it did not look textured. If you are sure it could not be, then belive what you want, I am sure of what I saw.:mad:
 
Originally posted by leonardlizaaard
[BFortis, although I didn't have too long to stare at he glass, I am sure that it was matt black (the colour of unpolished black rubber) but it did not look textured. If you are sure it could not be, then belive what you want, I am sure of what I saw.:mad:
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I'm just trying to understand the context. As I said, I don't know of any simple way of seeing clearly through a surface that has been treated so that it has become matt in appearance. A matt windscreen is perhaps more bizarre than a lack of number plates. :)
 
sorry Fortis i cant offer an explanation, just tell you what i saw
 
I don't think any 'Black ops' unit worth it's salt would use a Freelander.
It's an estate car on steroids...
Surely they'd stick to the real thing, Defenders or swanky Range Rovers!

Unless of course, it was a covert trip to Sainsbury's...:rolleyes: :D
 
I've never heard of the MOD being supplied with Freelanders. But then, would I?
Land Rover Special Vehicles used to buy a fair bit of MOD spec stuff off the company I used to work for, but when I was down there I only ever saw Defenders and Range Rovers.

Wenna could be right though.

Also - some cars straight off the production line have a matt black plastic cover taped onto the panels whilst in transit to protect from any damage.

Also, when they were testing the new "baby" Jaguar a couple or 3 years ago, they had a strange matt black cover over that too, but that was more camouflage than anything else. I remember seeing a small fleet of them in convoy on the M56.
 
The location and the fact that this is a Freelander points to one tihng... test mule.

You say that all the other mules you've seen have been road legal - well maybe so, but so are all the other cars you've ever seen. If the car is intended for track use only, as an early development car that will have a life span of only a few months before being crushed, being used on the road might have been quite exceptional for it. Even if it were stopped by the police, if it were driven by a foreign national and the vehicle has no ID - who do you punish?

Also, you can get a Freelander van, but only in the three door body style as far as I know. http://tinyurl.com/7qsx It has matt black panels as standard - they're not windows, but they fit in the place where the windows would usually be. My money is it being a mule for the BMW X3 - there were MGFs going round as Metros and the McLaren Mercedes road car is being tested in a TVR body, for instance, and I'm sure BMW's retained some ex-Land Rover engineers, as well as having a factory in Oxfordshire that makes the MINI. They'd use the matt black paint to cover up any change in proportions or anything that would mark the sheet metal of the vehicle as different from the normal Freelander, perhaps because of a larger engine.

Oh and as for the poster talking about L reg 325s - they're comparatively light, may have a 5 speed auto box, and 192 bhp, so you'd kind of expect them to beat most things away from the lights. 0-60 in 7.5ish, I think.
 
late one night i was driving home through arkengarthdale,yorksire moors.behind me was some headlights
about 200 to 300 yards away.they stayed with me for about 10 mins.this was a narrow road.when i looked in my rear view mirror
there was 2 sets of head lights.this was very strange as you could see quite a way back, even though it was dark,and the second set of light didnt seem to aproach they just seemed to be there . while i was whatching one set sharply veered off the road at about 50 miles an hour and the other set of lights just went out.there was no turn of to the road as i didnt pass one and the other car?was he driving in the dark down a country lane with no headlights?
i was so shocked i didnt stop if the first car had crashed his headlights would still be visible, it was moorland ,wouldnt they?
 
Could just have been some drunken Yorkshire eejits blasting around in their 4WDs after a night in the pub. They either switched off their lights to make the ride more interesting, or you lost sight of their lights when they dipped into a gulley or behind a wall.
Or they might have been 'lampers' out for a night's illegal hunting/poaching - that would explain why they turned off their headlights when they went off-road.
 
eh
Tin Finger, that happened to me one night ...
while I was walking into Sheffield Town centre-
this car mounted the pavement and hit some railings behind me... the kids in the car seemed ok ,
so I walked on.
Silly b..s I thought,
and walked a bit further down the road in complete silence
- it was about 2 am...
Then I looked round to see if they were still alright,
and the car had gone without a sound.
vanished,
disappeared.

how did they do that?
I still wonder.
 
A similar thing happened to my mate a couple of years ago. Another car was following him, right behind him, but when he looked in his mirror it had vanished, despite there being no turn-offs.

It wasn't supernatural, however. The second car was being driven by myself, who - having far too much BHP for any sane person - accelerated madly, lost grip instantly, flew over a wall and fell ten feet into a field, landing on my roof.
 
I have not read all the thread so please bear with me if what I say has been covered. But what you saw sounds similiar to something I was involved in the 80's. The freelander sounds to me like it is a research vehicle for testing paint/coverings, in my case it was the Infra red signature of the vehicle+ paint (Green and Blue). What this one was I do not know but we also took off number plates and other thin metal trim as it unbalances the homogenity of the signature. Suffice to say we found it was good paint for hiding the Infra red signature but then they covered the vehicles in tattle that was not painted in the same stuff so it was pointless. Black sounds sort of anti radar stealth stuff. If it was a government vehicle then they could do what they bloody well wanted as long as it was important enough.
 
No Idea. maybe its the economic black budget saving version.
 
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