Air-Drive Harrier backhoe

History

The Harrier was developed by Air-Drive Limited in late 1970 and early 1971 as, in effect, a mini-digger on a road-legal 4x4. McConnel's PA44 Power Arm — a small hydraulic backhoe already sold for mounting on tractors and barges — was fitted to the rear of a heavily strengthened Series IIA 109" chassis, with a French-made Montabert hand-held hydraulic concrete breaker carried at the front. Two hydraulic pumps were driven from the gearbox, an eight-blade fan and oil cooler handled the extra heat load, and two deployable outriggers steadied the vehicle while digging; a bank of power take-off levers controlled the hydraulics. Air-Drive aimed the package at light road-repair contractors and local authorities who wanted one compact vehicle instead of a lorry plus excavator.

Commercially the Harrier could not carve out a market from beneath the all-dominant JCB, and only around ten were built. The surviving prototype and company demonstrator, WPP 101J (chassis 27706819G, 2.25-litre diesel), featured in Air-Drive's brochure and was the vehicle tested by Rover for type approval. Only it and one other unrestored example are known to survive. WPP 101J was comprehensively restored by Rob Maude in 2016, remains fully operational, appeared at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed, and is now part of the Land Rover Heritage Collection.

Registry record

Manufacturer

Land Rover (British Leyland) — donor vehicle

Manufactured

developed late 1970 – early 1971

Modifier / coachbuilder

Air-Drive Ltd

Engine type

2.25 L diesel inline-four

Production run

~10 built; 2 known survivors

Current owner

The Land Rover Heritage Collection ↗

Country of origin

United Kingdom

Status

preserved (WPP 101J restored 2016, fully operational)

Catalogue data

Record kind

Named model

Model line

Series IIA

Wheels

4

Base catalogue fields are exported from the Difflocked game. In-game physics values are arcade tuning, not certified historical measurements, and are deliberately not shown as specifications here.

Sources & citations

Researched sources

• 'Dig this' Air-Drive special (Harrier developed late 1970/early 1971; McConnel PA44 backhoe and Montabert breaker on a strengthened Series IIA 109; ~10 built; WPP 101J restored by Rob Maude 2016) ↗ — Land Rover Heritage Collection (accessed 2026-09-10)
• 1971 Land Rover Series 2a Air-Drive Harrier, Reg. No. WPP 101J, Chassis No. 27706819G (auction lot description: prototype and Air-Drive company demonstrator, featured in the brochure, tested by Rover for type approval) ↗ — Cheffins Machinery Sales (accessed 2026-09-10)

Catalogue references

• https://www.lrheritagecollection.org.uk/the-collection/vehicles/wor-02 https://www.lrheritagecollection.org.uk/the-collection/vehicles/wor-02 ↗

Development reference notes

• Air-Drive Harrier backhoe — WPP 101J · HERITAGE-FLEET-REFERENCES.md

  Rear excavator arm; stabiliser legs; equipment crowded around the cab and front. Reference: https://www.lrheritagecollection.org.uk/the-collection/vehicles/wor-02