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Range Rover VINs Explained

Up to October 79 the VIN number prefix's looked like this:

355                          Manual, home RH stg, 2 door, pre Oct 1979, petrol
356                          Manual, export RH stg, pre Oct 79 model, petrol
358                          Manual, export LH stg detoxed, 2 door, pre Oct 79, petrol

Between October 79 and the introduction of the 1985 model year it
looked something like this:

LHABV1AA              Manual, RH stg, 2 door, post Oct 79, petrol
LHABV2AA              Presumably, LH stg, 2 door, post Oct 79, petrol - but not confirmed, and presumably LHAMV2AA also exists
LHAMV1AA              Manual, RH stg, 4 door, post Oct 79 model, petrol

BSALLHABV1AA     In Vogue ???
SALLHABV2AA        ?
SALLHABV8AA        ?

SALLHAMV1AA        Manual, 4 door, RH stg, post Oct 79 model, petrol
SALLHAMV2AA        Manual, LH stg, 4 door, post 1979 model, petrol

SBALLHARV1AA      Manual, RH stg, 4 door Monteverdi, post Oct 79, petrol
There is a LH stg     Monteverdi number also - probably 2AA

SALLHAMV3AA         Automatic, RH stg, 4 door, 1984 model, petrol
SALLHAMV7AA         Manual, RH stg, 4 door, 1984 model, petrol

From 1985 model year onwards, all prefix's appear to be of the form:

SALLHAxxxyAnnnnnn

The nnnnnn component is easy, this is just a unique number and appears to run from 0000001 right up to whatever the latest
vehicle was to start making its way down the line.

The y component indicates the model year of production, sounds simple doesn't it - not quite. It is a single letter,
matching the UK registration/index number year of registration prefix (used to be a suffix - until they ran out of letters) -
still with me? Now to confuse matters further, UK vehicle registration years run August 1 to July 31 - Land Rover
production years don't. For example, the current registration prefix is L which indicates a 94 model year vehicle,
unfortunately, current build Range Rovers are 95 model year and have been since about March, hense have vin number
prefix of SALLHAMxxxMA even though the M prefix doesn't come into effect until August.

Now for the difficult one, the xxx component - this is the one that identifies the build, there are lots of them, the ones I
have come across follow:

BV7          Manual, RH stg, 2 door, petrol

BM3          Automatic (PI), RH stg, 2 door CSK, petrol

MV3          Automatic, RH stg, 4 door, petrol
MV4          Automatic, LH stg, 4 door, petrol
MV7          Manual, RH stg, 4 door, petrol

ML3          Automatic (PI), home RH stg, 4 door, petrol
ML7          Manual (PI), RH stg, 4 door, petrol

ME7          2.4 Manual, RH stg, 4 door, diesel

MN7          2.5 manual, RH stg, 4 door, diesel

MF7          Manual, RH stg, 4 door, Tdi diesel
MF3          Automatic, RH stg, 4 door, Tdi diesel

For a definitive list you need to refer to the Parts Catalogue for the era of vehicle you are interested in. Same goes for the engine
numbers, though they appear to have been consistently identified by the first three characters in the number.

I hope this goes part way to answering your questions.

Regards

Rich

   
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