One thing that could be said for the Land Rover brand during the first 50 years was that it was definitely NOT a fashion icon. It is difficult to remember times before ‘Chelsea Tractors’, pimped-up Landies or stretched bodywork and special paint jobs for the Arab elite. No, for the first few decades Land Rover’s roots lay firmly in the ‘engineering’ heritage of the Rover Motor Co and the range was designed, promoted and valued for its raw utility in the workplace, not its sex appeal.
However, with the advent of the Defender, reflecting both the relative improvements in passenger comfort and broader consumer interest, Land Rover’s attention began to swing more towards the recreational buyer. So much so that in 1992 along came their very first Limited Edition – the “Defender SV”. Ever conservative in approach, “SV” stood for nothing more exciting than “Special Vehicle”!
The Defender’s last hurrah was enshrined in a series of “never-to-be repeated” opportunities to buy limited editions before the line finally closed in 2016 (one of which we have – above). Ironically this policy was soon forgotten when Land Rover released two years later a run of ‘raised from the grave’, re-built and re-powered vehicles celebrating its 70th birthday – known as the “Defender Works V8 70th Edition”. Only 150 were offered and such was the sense of loss felt for the brand at the time, they were sold to enthusiasts (or canny investors?) for an eye-watering £160,000 a piece!
