ASSAR 127 Stage 1 V8 Winch Vehicle

History

Avon and Somerset Search and Rescue traces its roots to the Avon and Somerset Constabulary's cliff rescue team on the Avon Gorge, which ran a blue 109-inch Land Rover with a powered winch and stretcher trailer from the 1970s. In the early 1980s that vehicle was superseded by this white Series III-era 127-inch Stage 1 V8, slightly modified with wider-offset wheel rims and 110 wheel-arch eyebrows and fitted with a similar winch set-up, its orange lattice derrick swinging out over the cliff edge to lower and recover rescuers and casualties on the gorge. In police livery — white with the red and blue side stripe, force crest, POLICE sign and blue beacons — it worked alongside the civilian volunteers until the Constabulary withdrew from the live end of cliff rescue and the volunteers formed the independent Avon Rocks Rescue team, the forerunner of ASSAR.

The registry's model stretches the Stage 1 cab-top body to 127 inches with the police livery, beacons, eyebrows, winch house and derrick; in the game it carries the blue-light boost and winch pickups.

Imagery

Registry record

Manufacturer

Land Rover (Stage 1 V8, 127-inch)

Manufactured

Early 1980s

Modifier / coachbuilder

Avon and Somerset Constabulary (winch and derrick installation)

Engine type

Rover 3.5 L V8 petrol

Production run

1

Country of origin

United Kingdom

Operated in

United Kingdom

Status

retired

Catalogue data

Record kind

Named model

Model line

Series III

Wheels

4

Nominal wheelbase

127″

Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.

Sources & citations

Researched sources

• Avon & Somerset Search and Rescue — Transport History ↗ — ASSAR (accessed 2026-09-11)

Catalogue references

• https://www.assar.org.uk/about/transport-history/ https://www.assar.org.uk/about/transport-history/ ↗