Modern Classic: Range Rover CSK

NewsModern Classic

Aug 12

The Range Rover CSK at the 1990 Paris motor show. Photo: Range Rover

First shown at the 1990 Paris motor show, the Range Rover CSK is named after Charles Spencer King who designed the first two-door model.

For the first time in a Range Rover it featured front and rear anti-roll bars and sports dampers to give a comfortable ride while most were sold with the five-speed manual and the 3.9-litre V8 upgraded to 139kW.

Only 200 units were made of the CSK, with New Zealand receiving 12 while Australia and South Africa only got three each and the rest stayed in the UK.

Confusingly, Australia later produced 400 versions of the CSK in four-door form but collectors should not be confused with the two-door CSK which is the UK built “real deal”.

The CSK two-door buyers got an Owners Pack in a cardboard box, with an etched plate, sales folder and a certificate of authenticity with an original thank you slip written and signed by Charles Spencer. Very cool!

This 1991 Range Rover CSK is priced around $250,000. Photo: Dutton

The spiritual successor to the Range Rover CSK was the concept Range Rover SV Coupe, which was to be ready for 2020 but was axed in 2019. It was almost like Land Rover had a crystal ball and saw a difficult 2020 so in hindsight acted wisely. But this car, which would have sold for over NZ$350,000, would have been a real treat.

There is no doubt with products like the new Defender hitting the market, old Defender prices rising and Land Rover’s broad product portfolio of the Discovery, Discovery Sport, Velar and next generation versions of the Range Rover out next year, the Land Rover brand cachet is at an all time high. I have the pleasure of driving the new Defender this week so stay tuned for that review.

My interest piqued on a 1991 CSK two-door model that is on TradeMe. A concours four owner, New Zealand new is being marketed by Dutton Garage, in black, with grey pinstriping, tan leather and matching floor mats, for a smidge shy of $250,000. Could this example still be a sharp investment?

As someone said to me on another Land Rover example, they aren’t making more, so the price can only go in one direction?

The Range Rover CSK for sale has a tan interior. Photo: Dutton

This makes collectors cars like the 1991 CSK even more desirable but I’d probably negotiate a little on this price, on the basis of the high kilometres (364,000km) provided another collector isn’t nipping heels in the queue.

Granted while this one is expensive it appears to have had a full all nuts and bolts restoration, which makes it possible to send this one straight into an airtight collector’s shed.

Those who follow AutoMuse know I am a big Range Rover fan with three of them, including one of the last 1995 Vogue SE Classics sold in New Zealand (then they were $140,000). But in these times adding one more classic is not ideal for the wallet.