Twisted decides the fate of its last 80 Defenders
Firm will divide and conquer with what remains of its once 240-strong stockpile of 'new' Land Rover Defenders
Twisted Automotive went out on quite a limb when it paid £7.5m to secure 240 examples of the Defender's final production run in 2015. The move made obvious strategic sense given the firm's business model - but it still necessitated additional funding, and there was no cast-iron guarantee that the model's implausible popularity would continue in the years following its demise.
Now, of course, with two-thirds of the stockpile already gone, Twisted is sitting pretty. Thanks in part to Land Rover's own obsessive revisits via its Classic division, it feels like the Defender has barely left - and its fanbase appears no less inclined to fork out six figures for one. Particularly one with delivery miles on the clock and only the Thirsk-based specialist's name on the V5C. Values are said to be on the rise with every passing day.
And so with 80 cars left and plenty of time to kill until it has a new Defender to play with, Twisted has announced a fresh plan of attack. It will split its efforts into three distinct areas of focus.
Company founder and managing director Charles Fawcett puts it like this: "We really do see our role as defending the Defender; we've built this business around the vehicle, so it falls on us to protect and celebrate it. And with our stock in its final run, the time has come to take Twisted to the next level through diversification and broadening our business model."
One branch of this 'diversification' plan is familiar - the 'Rework' division, where existing owners can have their cars restored or modified has long been the firm's bread and butter, and will continue to function as before.
The other two - dubbed 'Make History' and 'Remake History' - deal specifically with the fate of the shrinking stockpile. For the latter, Twisted has allocated 44 cars which it intends to modify in a way that 'pays homage to the history of the original Land Rover'. They will include Classic Series II, IIA, III and Stage One V8 models, all built to high specification and doubtless with a price to match. Work is scheduled to begin on January 29th - three years to the day since Land Rover wound up production at Solihull.
That leaves Twisted with its final 36 examples, a batch it says will be sold only to existing clients. As the 'Make History' name suggests, the emphasis here will be very much on bespoke creations as the brand looks to reward the customers that have contributed to its success over the years (and, of course, get maximum bang for its final invested buck). Twisted doesn't expect to start work on these cars till late next year, although given their exclusivity, we'd imagine the bun fighting has already begun in the order books.
Fawcett said: "This will be our third major release of our iconic stock. We've been slowly re-engineering and ensuring that the vehicles are the best that they can possibly be and will soon be ready to share them with the world. I know there will be lots of collectors and fans who want a piece of history coupled with our Twisted treatment.
"Twisted going forward is about building on the success of recent years. We're making a fundamental shift in the market and adopting a new mentality. Everything we do from now on is to keep the spirit of Land Rover's rich heritage alive."
despite a number of faults which, it must be said, disqualify it from large parts of modern living, most people are glad it was produced
but it seems a bit bizarre how frequent, some might say obsessive, the Defender presence is here on PH
sometimes it becomes like the monoculture brought to life in that comedy, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"
"Welcome to my home. Over here is my brother, Ted... and his wife, Melissa, and their children, Anita, Diane, and Nick. Over here, my brother, Tommy, his wife, Angie... and their children, Anita, Diane, and Nick. And here, my brother, George, that's his wife, Frieda... and their children, Anita, Diane, and Nick. Taki, Sophie, Carrie, Nick, Nick, Nick... "
despite a number of faults which, it must be said, disqualify it from large parts of modern living, most people are glad it was produced
but it seems a bit bizarre how frequent, some might say obsessive, the Defender presence is here on PH
sometimes it becomes like the monoculture brought to life in that comedy, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"
"Welcome to my home. Over here is my brother, Ted... and his wife, Melissa, and their children, Anita, Diane, and Nick. Over here, my brother, Tommy, his wife, Angie... and their children, Anita, Diane, and Nick. And here, my brother, George, that's his wife, Frieda... and their children, Anita, Diane, and Nick. Taki, Sophie, Carrie, Nick, Nick, Nick... "
The fact that the Defender is so in-demand but you cannot give-away a Series III also strikes me as odd - yes, their engines are absolute garbage but then so are many Defender engines...
This is really just a version of the G-Wagen thing - trundling along in relative obscurity until 'a celeb' gets one and suddenly every "no mind of their own" person wants one.
and the Unimog is still worthless - goes to show eh?
The fact that the Defender is so in-demand but you cannot give-away a Series III also strikes me as odd - yes, their engines are absolute garbage but then so are many Defender engines...
This is really just a version of the G-Wagen thing - trundling along in relative obscurity until 'a celeb' gets one and suddenly every "no mind of their own" person wants one.
and the Unimog is still worthless - goes to show eh?
The fact that the Defender is so in-demand but you cannot give-away a Series III also strikes me as odd - yes, their engines are absolute garbage but then so are many Defender engines...
This is really just a version of the G-Wagen thing - trundling along in relative obscurity until 'a celeb' gets one and suddenly every "no mind of their own" person wants one.
and the Unimog is still worthless - goes to show eh?
Now though I'm courting a Lada Niva. That's something you don't see on the road very much, is iconic in a crap sort of way, and in the unlikely event of me needing to off road I know it'll be just as capable - if not more so - than a Defender.
despite a number of faults which, it must be said, disqualify it from large parts of modern living, most people are glad it was produced
but it seems a bit bizarre how frequent, some might say obsessive, the Defender presence is here on PH
sometimes it becomes like the monoculture brought to life in that comedy, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"
"Welcome to my home. Over here is my brother, Ted... and his wife, Melissa, and their children, Anita, Diane, and Nick. Over here, my brother, Tommy, his wife, Angie... and their children, Anita, Diane, and Nick. And here, my brother, George, that's his wife, Frieda... and their children, Anita, Diane, and Nick. Taki, Sophie, Carrie, Nick, Nick, Nick... "
are you high??
The fact that the Defender is so in-demand but you cannot give-away a Series III also strikes me as odd - yes, their engines are absolute garbage but then so are many Defender engines...
This is really just a version of the G-Wagen thing - trundling along in relative obscurity until 'a celeb' gets one and suddenly every "no mind of their own" person wants one.
and the Unimog is still worthless - goes to show eh?
Now though I'm courting a Lada Niva. That's something you don't see on the road very much, is iconic in a crap sort of way, and in the unlikely event of me needing to off road I know it'll be just as capable - if not more so - than a Defender.
The fact that the Defender is so in-demand but you cannot give-away a Series III also strikes me as odd - yes, their engines are absolute garbage but then so are many Defender engines...
This is really just a version of the G-Wagen thing - trundling along in relative obscurity until 'a celeb' gets one and suddenly every "no mind of their own" person wants one.
and the Unimog is still worthless - goes to show eh?
Now though I'm courting a Lada Niva. That's something you don't see on the road very much, is iconic in a crap sort of way, and in the unlikely event of me needing to off road I know it'll be just as capable - if not more so - than a Defender.
The interior was made of black margarine cartons and the fuel gauge was un-damped and wildly inaccurate, the only time I've had to syphon fuel out of an outboards tank to keep going on M4.
It's high point was pulling my friend's LW military series 3 out of the mud as he tried to follow.
Have all very nice proper cars now, but it's one of the ones I miss most; far more than the Series 3 that replaced it in a mistaken idea that it wouldn't rust 'cos it's made of aluminium...' That worked out well.
Would have another as a pet now no problem
I tried to drive one and that killed the dream.
I always liked them, Mum had one for pulling the horse box etc
I drove them around the fields from around 10yrs old - crappy, bumpy, slow horrid things but that was because they were ancient
When I grew older I test drove later ones on the road - oh it seems they're all like that
So I bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland - 4.7 V8 265hp with LSD front and rear - for buttons and it's better in every way (except image)
The fact that the Defender is so in-demand but you cannot give-away a Series III also strikes me as odd - yes, their engines are absolute garbage but then so are many Defender engines...
This is really just a version of the G-Wagen thing - trundling along in relative obscurity until 'a celeb' gets one and suddenly every "no mind of their own" person wants one.
and the Unimog is still worthless - goes to show eh?
I want Unimogs to remain comparatively under the radar (and thus affordable) until such time as I can acquire enough driveway room to keep one!
The fact that the Defender is so in-demand but you cannot give-away a Series III also strikes me as odd - yes, their engines are absolute garbage but then so are many Defender engines...
This is really just a version of the G-Wagen thing - trundling along in relative obscurity until 'a celeb' gets one and suddenly every "no mind of their own" person wants one.
and the Unimog is still worthless - goes to show eh?
I want Unimogs to remain comparatively under the radar (and thus affordable) until such time as I can acquire enough driveway room to keep one!
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