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The Electronic Telegraph  Wednesday 17 January 1996  The Front Page

Land Rover offers Portillo a smoother ride

By John Langley, Motoring Correspondent

THE ARMY spent a year trying to find out which of the two leading contenders for the new military ambulance contract suited it best.

In the end, insiders believe, it may not have been the performance, overall dimensions or reliability of the vehicles that mattered so much as the Portillo Factor.

The Defence Secretary, already under political pressure, was not looking for further aggravation by awarding an important contract to a manufacturer in a country that is not even in Nato rather than to the well-respected - and British - Land Rover company.

In the event, it seems there was little to choose between the contenders. Both met the requirements set out.

The Defence Research Agency and the Army drivers liked the Steyr Daimler Puch Pinzgauer ambulance's smooth ride. Its sophisticated swing axle, self-levelling suspension, with automatic transmission, is said to have made it 20 per cent faster over rough going, as well as giving a more comfortable ride.

The DRA is also said to have described the Pinzgauer as "the most reliable vehicle we have tested". But it was also up to a third more expensive than the more basic Land Rover design, which is thought to cost around Ł40,000 a vehicle. Rivals dismissed it as "the gold-plated option".

Alarm bells began ringing in the Midlands

Backers of the Austrian vehicle argued that although the initial cost might be higher, its extra quality and reliability made it better value. This seems to have been accepted by the Defence Procurement Agency, which appeared to be coming out in its favour. The agency was also impressed that the ambulance bodies were made and fitted in South Wales by Bedwas Bodyworks, part of the Securicor group, and that this accounted for up to half the contract value.

Alarm bells began ringing in the Midlands. There was talk of the threat to Land Rover's overseas business if the Government appeared to be snubbing its own manufacturers, as well as possible consequences for employment at Marshalls of Cambridge which builds the Land Rover ambulance bodies.

Midlands MPs from the All-Party Motor Industry Group posed with a Land Rover ambulance outside Parliament and even agreed to climb on to its stretchers for the photographers. Mr Portillo, it was said, would be in for a very hard time if he did the unthinkable and approved the Steyr deal.

The Defence Department insisted that no decision had been made, sentiments echoed by the Prime Minister when he was questioned about it in the House.

As a "defence source" said yesterday : "It was not that clear cut. Each vehicle had advantages over the other in certain areas."

Land Rover and the Ministry of Defence insisted last night that there was still no official announcement. But they were certainly breathing more easily in Solihull.

Tories jump gun over good news

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