When you have a car as iconic as the Defender it can be difficult to say goodbye to.
Land Rover seems to be having a particularly tough time, and we know that five years after production officially ceased, it is launching another limited edition of its now-defunct off-roader.
The special thing is that this is not a souped-up, chrome-plated version with a chic interior. On the contrary, the British brand digged deep into its roots to create the rugged Defender Works V8 trophy, a limited edition of 25 classic defenders inspired by the Camel Trophy.
If you’ve been a fan of Defenders, you know that the competition – which ran between 1989 and 2000 – was best known for using Land Rover vehicles over difficult terrain. The annual event got its name from its main sponsor, Camel Cigarettes, and saw modified versions of the SUV participating in special tasks like timed rally stages, winch trials, and orienteering.
Both the 90 two-door short-wheelbase station wagons and the long-wheelbase four-door 110 station wagons will be available here, all based on existing chassis and manufactured by Land Rover’s Classic Division.
Camel’s sponsorship might be gone – and a similar-looking Land Rover-branded sticker instead – but the recognizable pudding yellow paint scheme remains, though it is now called Eastnor Yellow after the manufacturer’s testing center in the UK. Still, there are enough references to take you back to the golden days of the classic defender, such as the extensive external roll cage and underbody protection, an elevated air intake, and an electric winch.
Both wheelbases will be equipped with a 5.0-liter naturally aspirated V8 producing 399 hp and 513 Nm of torque, although it is now also equipped with an eight-speed automatic transmission as standard. Land Rover Classic already offered this powertrain with the Defender Works V8, another special edition released in 2018 to mark Land Rover’s 70th anniversary. In its short wheelbase form, it reached a speed of 0 to 100 km / h in just 5.6 seconds. The Defender Works V8 Trophy is also offered with larger brakes and new telescopic dampers.
The 4 × 4 continues the color scheme with all-black Windsor leather upholstery, Recaro sport seats with contrasting yellow stitching, and an Elliot Brown Land Rover Trophy dial.
But what good is an off-roader if you can’t get it dirty? Customers of this special edition can put the cars to the ultimate test on an exclusive three-day adventure at Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire. The all-terrain competition will be the first time they’ll also drive the car so they don’t waste time breaking into their new babies – under personal supervision, of course.
This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Singapore.