Land Rover Defender 90: PH Fleet
The Mini has gone back; time to introduce its PopBangColoured replacement!
So it's with great excitement that we can introduce a Twisted Land Rover Defender to the PH Fleet. Like the Mini it has two seats, luggage space behind those and a diesel engine. Oh, and some excellent PH graphics too (thanks to Ian Cook of PopBangColour and Motormode for those). Elsewhere it's just a little different...
Having only completed a few urban miles in the Defender my impressions are fairly limited. Vivid certainly, but hardly in depth. Fortunately our Business Development Executive Sam enjoyed/endured a journey back from Twisted's Thirsk HQ and is most familiar with the car. You can read his thoughts below, along with the full spec for the car. [Matt]
Sam writes: After being picked up from Thirsk station I was dropped off at Twisted's head office with our big shiny grey PH Mini replacement outside. Twisted Automotive owner Charlie Fawcett spent an hour going over the vehicle and taking me on a spirited spin across the Yorkshire countryside. Charlie talked through the addition of adaptive suspension technology and its ability to corner flat with power. Perhaps something to try with a little more confidence!
Superb from PopBangColour and Motormode!
Having never driven a Defender before it was all very new as I got behind the wheel. The sidesteps and rollcage are a welcome addition as the T40's raised suspension requires a slightly ungainly 'jump-up and twist' entrance. Its driving style took me back to a Transit van I drove in another life due to the seat height, engine and long gear lever. The gear shift requires really careful pedal balancing to prevent a 'clunk' which is all the more noticeable as it feels like you're sat virtually on top of the gearbox.
The driving experience is distinctly raw, which is not an accident. This T40 model is the entry level toy, certainly not the refined daily driver that can be found that can be found from Twisted's higher end offerings. The van hasn't been treated to the sort of work that Charlie would normally undertake, the likes of fixing original factory holes in the bodywork and adding extra soundproofing. Despite Charlie's warning, the first time one of those chunky BF Goodrich tyres threw up a rock was quite a shock; I think my head is still resonating from the impact!
Off-road tyres will be tested as soon as possible
With an uprated exhaust and remap the T40 can easily reach 'safe' motorway speeds and still feels like its still got a bit to give, which is quite unexpected. I'm now also familiar with 'Defender Elbow', only remedied by opening the window. Around town its size, especially the width, takes some getting used to. I was too meek when confronted with a Rolls-Royce Phantom recently, it won't happen again!
First outing for the T40 was to take it down to our vehicle wrappers Motormode in Kent. Ian at PopBangColour had put his artistic spin on the Twisted logo earlier in the week and it looked fantastic when combined with our smiley (as seen on the Mini) in the CAD rendering. Motormode had the whole vehicle done in a morning; top work guys! Its services are highly recommended and only giving them two days notice to design and print the whole job it seems no project is too big. You may have seen them recently working with the Top Gear team hiding Clarkson's keys under an orange felt wrap on a Mk2 Golf.
A great British icon. On a Defender
There are big plans for this truck, with Charlie promising extra product over the coming months including soundproofing, more leather and extra Twisted add ons... a V8 transplant might be interesting too!
FACT SHEET
Car: Twisted Land Rover Defender 90
Run by: Everyone!
On fleet since: August 2014
Mileage: 1,579
List price new: £50,265.04 (Price as standard for Land Rover Defender 90 Hard Top XS £27,490. Twisted options as follows: Twisted P6 Performance Upgrade £2,064, Twisted Progressive Suspension £2,544, Twisted by Alcon brake upgrade £3,984, Corris Grey paint to grill, vent and wing mirrors £474, Java Metallic to rear crossmember and mud flap brackets £493.50, raised intake vents and premium side vent £94.80, Twisted oval badges £38.40, gloss black Land Rover bonnet badge £168.60, BF Goodrich all-terrain tyres 265/65 R18 £1,389, Twisted 18-inch White Sport alloys £1,734, crystal headlights with stainless bezels £256.80, LED brake, tail, reverse and fog lights plus indicators £672, Twisted Zinc coated, Java metallic LED front bumper £591, stainless steel A2 exterior fixings £486, front roll hoop in black with light mounts £1,554, tubular rear step and towing bracket £591, Twisted 6mm black coated steering guard £348, black chequer plate top to tubular side rails and stainless fixings £270, Twisted exterior decals and number plates £12.60, privacy glass £474, Recaro leather CS seats and Twisted raised subframe £3,123, 350mm sport steering wheel and shallow Twisted boss £339, centre raised arm rest and grainy leather and silver stitch to cubby box £393, grainy leather and silver stitch to dash tops and grab handle £432, Land Rover oval rear load liner £159.54 and rubber mats £88.80)
Last month at a glance: A Twisted Defender joinsthe PH Fleet, scramble begins for the keys
Now I guess the argument is that all that "function" is still there; why not bring the "form" up to match it? Essentially, on anything OTHER than a Defender this treatment would be absolutely ripped apart as being bling, window dressing, and "all mouth, no trousers".
Conclusion: Can get away with looking badass because it is in fact badass, but you're walking a fine line so don't push it too far.
I had one for about 5 years in the 90's (E747 AWF where are you now, most likely on a farm somewhere). Loved it at the time, but surely they could have released a new model by now, and i mean a new model, not just a tarted up defender. The cost of this twisted version is just plain nonsense.
--You must mean how narrow they are! They're one of the narrowest proper 4x4's you can get, I find my 110 slips easily through city traffic.
Would love to try the Twisted suspension upgrade, as I find I can "corner at full power" with standard stuff too, and "flat" is purely relative
Best 4x4xfar!
That price escalation above the base vehicle does look steep.
Am I the only one who immediately thought of this.
Back to the point, not a fan of these 'bespoke' Defenders tbh... seems like spending a LOT of money (3x OTR in some cases) to make the car marginally better. Interior upgrades particularly unsuccessful in this respect... sit in one and it feels like a rural Tart's boudoir... *ED check out the gearknob!!!!*
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http://www.twistedperformance.co.uk/twisted-editio...
Silly money really, but if my Lotto numbers came up, it would join the rest of the silly vehicles in my fantasy garage. Obviously I'd need something to tool about on my country estate
Ours is an Overfinch, which was basically cosmetic, interior retrim and a remap/intercooler. Most importantly for us, it was an auto.
Since then it has been at other specialists; it has huge Fox shocks and AP brakes. And it's made... well... next to no difference! It still doesn't go round corners or stop, but we'll keep working on it! The mods give it a lot of street cred; it gets a huge amount of attention.
Despite it being, frankly, rubbish, they have so much character it is impossible for them to not get under your skin. Getting a Ford V8 swap soon... cannot wait for 400+ horses!
As others have pointed out, it's actually small not big at all.
Wow, what a £price!!! If you wanted something original and not a tarted up over priced standard 90 then £20k would have bought you a genuine LR 50th Anniversary 90. Complete with 4L V8 and auto box. And THAT'S collectable, appreciating and attracts the right sort of attention.
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