POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Toy Matchbox No.20 Police Patrol Range Rover

Object No. 85/1120-11

This Matchbox Rolamatics toy Range Rover police car was made by Lesney in England in about 1975 and is No. 20e in Matchbox's 1-75 series with production between 1975 and 1982. Matchbox Rolamatics cars have a lug on one or more of the wheels which caused movement in another part of the car as the wheel rotated. In the Rolamatics toy Range Rover the light rotated on the roof. The vehicle has a blue roof light, matching (actually part of) the interior, enclosed in a clear dome and has opaque windows. Other interior/light combinations were made including yellow, orange, red. This toy has a simple orange band with 'Police' marked in black, but other liveries were also made, including a pale yellow car with labels 'Securite-Rallye Paris-Dakhar 83'. It is thought that the No.20e must have been one of the last of the cars made in England before the takeover by Matchbox International. The full-size, two-door, Range Rover was built by Rover in England and introduced in 1970 with a 3.5 litre, V8 engine which developed 130 bhp. It operated in permanent, all-wheel-drive through a four-speed gearbox, two-speed transfer case and a lockable centre differential. The wheelbase was 100 inches and the body and the engine of the car were built of a light alloy. The significance of the car at the time was that it was an entirely new concept and design which combined the features of a luxury station wagon with a heavy-duty, multi-purpose vehicle which gave excellent cross-country performance and maximum tractability. Dinah Hales, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences volunteer, under the supervision of Margaret Simpson, Curator, June 2016.