Defender V8 buyers get option of 110 Double Cab
Famed pickup joins 90 Hard Top in Land Rover Classic's expanding lineup...
The signs that things are going terrifically well with Land Rover Classic’s decision to produce ‘remastered’ Defender V8s have been obvious for a while. Consider: what started as a limited edition (publicly announced after the fact) effort has now morphed not just into an ongoing endeavour, but one that now includes additional body styles. Always wanted a 110 Double Cab or 90 Hard Top with a 5.0-litre V8? Well, now you can.
In fairness, Land Rover (as far as we know), had never said it wouldn’t restomod the pickup, it probably just needed sufficient motivation to do it. That motivation has come courtesy of a single client, who commissioned a Defender full house: 90 Station Wagon, 110 Station Wagon, 110 Double Cab and 90 Soft Top. Factor in the colour-changing Spectral Green finish, Icy White roof and expedition cage, and hand-painted white coachlines, and it’s safe to assume seven figures appeared on Land Rover Classic’s invoice.
Whether you think they look good or not is obviously beside the point: the collection is very obviously about floating one person’s boat and we’ll assume it’s job jobbed on that front (though we’d question why anyone would want semi-aniline Bridge of Weir Vanilla leather or Superwool carpets in a Defender). For Land Rover’s part, it is simply happy to point out that the buyer has made extended use of its Works Bespoke service and the ‘near-infinite’ customisation possibilities that it affords each customer.
Whether or not the demands of this one patron also resulted in a new, specially developed 9-inch touchscreen isn’t clear - but this too is now on the updated option list. Land Rover doesn’t tell us what operating system is uses, though confirmation it features both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is likely to make it a popular choice. Purists might grumble about the custom facia that comes with it, though for our money (none of it real, obviously), it looks nicely integrated - and is surely nicer to use than the dinky infotainment display the V8s came with previously.
“This spectacular Works Bespoke commission demonstrates the breadth of Land Rover Classic’s customisation capabilities – the result of a collaborative creative process that engages our clients with our in-house design, engineering and craftspeople to bring their vision to life,” said Dominic Elms, Director, Land Rover Classic. “An authentic Classic Defender V8 (or four, in this case), hand-built and remastered by the original manufacturer.”
As a reminder, every example is assembled from an original Defender produced between 2012 and 2016, and uprated with a 405hp 5.0-litre V8, not to mention a host of other performance parts. In terms of supply, the introduction of additional variants is likely convenient - and the broader popularity of the Double Cab (which, despite featuring a truck bed no more capacious than your average dustbin, really does suit the Defender profile), means it’s unlikely to remain exclusively a feature of just one collection. Just be careful about how you wield Land Rover’s ‘expanded’ colour palette when it comes to painting the wheels and roof. And everywhere else for that matter.
Or, we just label them a Toff and be done with it.
Or, we just label them a Toff and be done with it.
Or, we just label them a Toff and be done with it.
Or, we just label them a Toff and be done with it.
They’d have one like this just more battered:
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