All about the CSK

The CSK was not the first limited edition Land Rover had built — the Vogue models in the early eighties were also limited editions. But the CSK was the first model that carried a plate declaring the fact and indeed a paper certificate of authenticity. Surely, a limited edition gives the purchaser a feeling that a rare vehicle can be possessed as a sort of now-or-never opportunity.

When the Range Rover CSK was announced in 1990, there was a certain amount of sniggering in Land Rover enthusiast circles. Most people couldn't imagine why anybody would want a two-door Range Rover at all in a market where only four-doors were being sold. In fact, Land Rover chose to make the special edition a two-door mainly because every other UK Range Rover in the showroom at that time was a four-door. It made the model distinctive. And though some of them took a while to find buyers, all of the 200 CSK models eventually did.

The CSK was a direct descendant of the Olympic project of the mid-1980s, which had been aimed at producing a sporty derivative of the Range Rover. The Olympic and the Kestrel prototypes which followed it had two-door bodyshells because Land Rover thought they looked more sporty than the four-door variety.

But not every CSK had two doors. In Australia, there was a special edition four-door model badged as a CSK. It was created by the importers and carried a simple CSK logo which was not intended even remotely to resemble Spen King's signature. There were 400 Australian-specification CSKs made at the same time — based on the standard four-door Vogue SE equipped with a coachline and a logo.

So Land Rover had launched the fastest-ever Range Rover with a suspension package that made it a much more convincing road vehicle, yet without losing any of its tremendous off-road ability. Even today, the CSK feels surprisingly modern. For a car of two tons, it can be hurried surprisingly quickly along the lanes, thanks to an enthusiastic V8 engine. The gorgeous V8 burble thumps out 185bhp at 4,750 rpm and 235lb ft of torque at just 2,600 rpm. The CSK will reach a claimed 114mph — making it the quickest standard Range Rover ever offered — with a 0-60 time of 9.9 seconds. Standard vehicles managed 110mph and took 11 seconds to 60. But it's difficult to make too many gains in this area, given that Range Rovers are about as aerodynamic as Finland.

The CSK at last delivers the sort of road handling performance that every Range Rover should have had for the past 20 years. On the road, the results are very impressive. The Range Rover has never been known for its communicative steering, but the CSK is crisper in its responses, far less vague around the straight ahead and feels more stable and precise at speed. There's much less initial roll and far better turn-in, and the CSK can be powered through a series of bends in a more fluid and far better controlled manner.

Before the Range Rover Sport was introduced in April/May 2005, the CSK had been the only other sporting Range Rover. And for this reason Land Rover borrowed CSK 001 at the Range Rover Sport's World Wide Launch in Spain — as a link between old and new and as a tribute to the original designer of the Range Rover, Charles Spencer King.

If you're looking for a special car, it will cost you a lot of time and money. This is especially true of the CSK special edition Range Rover, assuming, that is, you can find one for sale.

The asking price for runners in good condition is between £5,000 and £7,000. Projects are from around £1,000 upwards, depending on the amount of rot and the condition of the interior. Automatics are rarer than the manual ones. It is important that you pay attention to the unique bits, like the trim that is unavailable. Until recently the chrome bumpers were still for sale new. The rest of the CSK is really standard and won't be hard to find.

The quality control was not brilliant when they were built and now, some 36 years later, many are showing signs of corrosion in the inner wings, sills, rear cross members, tailgates, doors and even the windscreen pillars — the normal problems faced when buying a classic Range Rover. If you do find one, make sure that the price genuinely reflects the cost of putting it in order. Don't underestimate repair costs.

The mechanical bits are all available either new or secondhand, as is most of the bodywork being common to all similar-age Range Rovers, although good 2-doors are very hard to find. The special wheels are easy to find as they were used on the LSE, though they will need painting to suit the CSK.

The VIN Number — all CSKs were built to UK home market specifications and do not have any unique identifying feature in their VIN number. They all start:

This VIN translates as a Range Rover three-door Estate 3.9 pi RHD 5-speed manual 1990 model year assembled at Solihull. The automatic ones had a 3 instead of the 7 for the ninth digit. There are no identifying features in the registration details either, as they are just recorded as Range Rover Efi Estates. Being a popular style it is not unknown for replicas to have been created — so if it does not fit the pattern above, or if the individually numbered plaque is missing from the radio panel, be very cautious.

Land Rover at Lode Lane, Solihull, can verify the VIN number and do hold a record of the CSK built vehicles. Interestingly, the certificates were not assigned in production sequence — edition number 001 was actually the 6th car off the production line, and Spen King's own CSK was the 5th built but carries certificate number 200. So always verify against the plaque, not just the VIN sequence.

In the beginning only 200 CSKs were built, which makes them something of a rarity. Two CSKs ended up on the Land Rover test fleet and were run to destruction. What happened to the other 198?

Three cars went to Australia, as many as twelve went to New Zealand, four or five examples went to South Africa, one ended up in Kenya, one car has been spotted in Argentina and three cars are known to be in Holland. Several will have been broken up by garages or their owners after being considered beyond economical repair. Several more will probably be in storage awaiting the attentions of suitably skilled or wealthy owners. Of the rest, it is believed that 80 to 100 CSKs are still surviving or at least in working order.

The CSKs have their own cult following now, and this website aims to keep that alive. It's a good classic Range Rover, but one of a very rare kind. Everyone likes the looks of the CSK. And the CSK Range Rover is a highly prized vehicle by the majority of their owners — their value warrants keeping the ones left in good condition for future generations, who will also be able to experience what is undoubtedly the best performing and probably the best looking Classic Range Rover ever produced.