Latest Valiance Defender Convertible gets V8
The fabric hood might not do it for everyone - but just imagine the sound with the roof down...
Three down, two to go. Back when the Defender Convertible project was announced - or Heritage Customs Valiance, to give the car its full title - a production run of just five cars was confirmed. A couple have already been completed, so now it’s time for number three: a Grasmere Green V8.
Don’t forget, too, that the current Defender doesn’t need to make do with a lesser tune of the 5.0-litre, as was once the case. Buy a Defender 90 with a V8 - as this car once was - and you get 525hp. This is going to make for one heck of a convertible experience, exhausts bellowing and passengers likely screaming as the Valiance thunders its way down the road. Any concerns about the look or the structure seem rather less important once a supercharged eight-cylinder engine is involved. Heritage Customs is promising ‘unparalleled open-top excitement’.
There’s more to this build than just the canvas top, too. Interestingly, the donor Defender was repainted in Grasmere Green - it wasn’t like this originally. There are also Magic Metal accents (as seen on the Copperhead commission) as well as the new 20-inch white wheels. The soft top is handcrafted; the Heritage Edition Convertible is described as exuding a ‘friendly and distinctive retrospective allure’ by its maker. Certainly not going to see another in the dozens of Defenders dotted around every city centre.
There’s more tan on the inside (what else to go with the green?), the driving environment retrimmed and dotted with Heritage Customs details. If anything it’s a shame that the focus is on the roof, because the leather inside really does look lovely. At least everyone will get a good look once the hood is folded away.
Niels van Roij, a co-owner of Heritage Customs and one of its designers, said of this Land Rover: "Like the previous two Valiance Convertible conversions, this third car is a limited edition coachbuilt car, commissioned exclusively for our discerning customer, ensuring a one-of-a-kind driving experience. Equipped with bespoke Heritage Customs forged white Rock Dust alloy wheels, Grasmere Green paint on the body but also bumpers and fender flares, and unique exterior and interior details, this V8-powered Valiance Convertible embodies the pinnacle of automotive craftsmanship by Heritage Customs."
As is the nature of these things, a finished price hasn’t been released. A brand-new 90 V8 is £100,000 to start with, before thinking about any handcrafting. That’s the price of exclusivity. Those with a more modest budget but a similar taste might, as always, be tempted by the classifieds - how about a recently refurbished orange classic?
If they could elevate the apparent quality of the hood, I'd have mine in candy pink, road-roller split rims and some big 80s chrome text on the sides.
I think it looks a bit naff and doesn't add to the overall aesthetic - the body sides are too tall compared to the hood, it just doesn't look right. Certainly not compared to the original Defender canvas or even the Jeep Wrangler.
Nice interior though.
And then there is the quality of the work which is wholly absent. It is a total pile of s
te. Comedically, offensively crap. These are pictures of the absolute best job that they are capable of doing. The interior stitch work is poor but the trimming is real backstreet bodge work. The sort of stuff a gullible PHer pays £thousands for and proudly shows off but deep down they know they've been scammed by yet another cowboy. And the hood!!!! So badly templated that it is baggier than a Michael J Fox reefer.
Why can't entities like PH mock this piss taking, scan crap when it is sent to them instead of giving the impression of endorsement? This stuff should be publicly lampooned and ripped apart to serve as warning to cowboys and those who must try harder.
As for how to do a convertible one of these, I think it would be very difficult because by the time you have added the quality required for it to work to a level commensurate with the quality of the vehicle it would be too enormous to fold back properly.
I think when the hard tip is removed the best solution is likely to be a choice of a rear tonneau for when you don't have rear passengers and some form of bimini top just as a basic concession to the worst rain or sun?
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