A (four-inch) cut above the competition.
The Land Rover Defender has been manufactured from 1983 right through to today, with a four-year gap between 2016 and 2020. It is a widely-regarded as a luxuriously rugged platform, catering to high end off-roading and travel through places with austere service and repair infrastructure.
The Defender comes in three basic variants, namely the 90, the 110, and the 127, often spelled out instead of written numerically. Each one is named after the wheelbase, aka number of inches, roughly, between the center of the front wheel to the center of the rear wheel on the same side, the wheelbase (though the Ninety is closer to 93 inches and was rounded down).
This particular example has been lifted four inches up and comes with aftermarket tires to take off-roading performance to the next level, and it’s got a few other surprises as well.
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Built from the ground up to take on any ground.
A coating of Gloss Black clads this majestic machine, almost green in some lighting, and with an all business, no nonsense look. The already high ground clearance is augmented by the four-inch lift kit, really highlighting the fact that, road or no road, this Defender 110 can go where it pleases. A line of diamond-pattern steel plating runs along the bottom edge of the bodywork, adding flair and practical support.
A custom steel front bumper is built to take a few hits, reinforced with an integrated bull bar and protecting the aftermarket grille which sits behind it. On the rear door a mounting unit holding a spare tire ensures a blowout doesn’t end in a stranding. In addition to the normal driving and parking lights, a pair of LED off-road driving lights adds extra illumination in bad conditions. Off-road 37” tires and reinforced aftermarket wheels round out the performance and style.
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It doesn’t matter what side you drive on when there are no roads.
In classic British tradition, this Defender 110 is right-side-drive, not left-side-drive like vehicles designed for American roads. This still is perfectly legal to drive on U.S. roadways, though it comes with several challenges, especially at drive up windows and ticket kiosks. When you’re roughing it in the back 40 or out in the middle of a roadless desert, however, there’s really no impact from which side of the car the driver sits on.
The front two seats are high-back seats trimmed in Exmoor leather with diamond stitching. as are the three seats in the second row. Two benches in the very back face one another, with a convinient handle bolted on the inside of the rear door to provide a bit of support when the going gets bumpy. A three-spoke MOMO steering wheel is sporty and padded with an anti-slip grip, while the gauges are simple and unadorned, simply providing the information you need without a lot of flash or distraction. There is an aftermarket digital stereo unit installed, however, for just a bit of cheeky fun on this otherwise mostly serious beast.
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An engine that’s seen a few miles, and is ready for more.
Under the hood of this ready-to-rumble off-roader is a 308ci (5.0L) V8 engine, which to this author’s knowledge was not one of the stock options offered by the manufacturer in this year of production, and is in fact quite a lot more engine volume than any of the engines originally offered. Inquiries as to if and when this engine swap occurred should go to the owner on the site where this vehicle is listed.
In any case, those five liters of V8 power are sent to all four wheels by way of a five-speed manual transmission, with Fox Racing aftermarket shocks and coil-overs and an upgraded and reinforced skid plate also boosting the survivability and enjoyability of attempting to conquer even the most untamed terrain. The Defender’s odometer reads 115,801 miles, though the true mileage is unknown.
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Beat the traffic by foregoing the roads.
There’s a particular silhouette that a Land Rover cuts, from any generation but especially the late 80’s and early 90’s, that is hard to quantify with words. It’s evocative of the struggles and triumphs of the Greatest Generation’s World War, despite not being manufactured until the peacetime that followed. It’s a box on wheels, which as a concept are dime a dozen and leave one spoiled for choice, and yet you can just tell when you see a Land Rover that it’s special, and intentional, made with the highest standards and designed with care. If you’d like a chance to own a piece of that uncompromising tradition, check out the listing and maybe your next foray into the unknown will see you in the driver’s seat.
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