KYP 637D Home Office Austin Gipsy
KYP 637D
Home Office
Austin Gipsy
Police Mobile Column from 1966. This is the only preserved mobile police column vehicle still on the road. The description refers to its use in the Cold War civil defence force that was intended to patrol the UK in the event of a nuclear attack. It was delivered to the Home Office in 1967 but the force was disbanded a year later and the Gipsy was passed to Hampshire Police. After some use, it was superseded by the Ford Transit and so went into storage. After passing through a few private hands, it returned to the UK from Ireland in 2016 and underwent re-liverying back into its original 1966/7 livery. It has never been restored! The interior is totally original and the vehicle has covered less than 6,000 miles in its long life. It is even still using the original exhaust. It is a real time-warp vehicle.