The Dalai Lama’s Land Rover Goes On The Block

Tenzin Gyatso, better known as His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, never drove but a 1966 Land Rover Series IIA became His Holiness’s official vehicle. Only a 4x4 could traverse the unpaved roads of the Dharamsala region of India, Nepal, and the Himalayas. The Land Rover served the Dalai Lama for ten years of his exile in Tibet, and was primarily driven by the Lama’s brother, Tenzin Cheogyal. In 1976, His Holiness upgraded to a Range Rover and the Land Rover was retired. It was maintained by Cheogyal until 2005, when it landed at West Coast British, a Land Rover repair shop based in Palo Alto, California, for a well-needed restoration. The car could fetch $100,000 to $150,000 when it comes up for auction at RM Sotheby’s starting August 29..

Read more: Atlas Obscura