With Land Rover celebrating 75 years of all-terrain adventures, global expeditions, and memorable journeys, we commemorated the brand’s Diamond Jubilee by introducing the latest, all-new Defender 75th Limited Edition to a select few of its famous heritage ancestors.
It was a sight to behold for any Land Rover enthusiast… Five of the most delectable Landy Series and Defender models in the 75-year history of the brand proudly strut their stuff on local soil to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of the iconic brand.
From a durable but basic utilitarian workhorse, the Land Rover family has, over time, evolved to become cult vehicles, worldwide and locally. The brand owes its existence to “Huey”, the first (with registration HUE 166) of three pre-production Series I models shown at the Amsterdam Motor Show on 30 April 1948.
While “Huey” gave the world its first glimpse of the shape that would become instantly recognisable as a Land Rover, the 75th anniversary of the brand is now celebrated with the New Defender – as Coventry recently released the 75th Limited Edition – available in 90 or 110 body shape and with an exclusive exterior design theme and unique detailing.
75TH EDITION
Finished in iconic Grasmere Green (introduced to the New Defender line-up for the first time and exclusive to this variant) with matching 20” alloy wheels and centre caps, the model’s exterior enhancements are completed by a unique but very subdued 75 Years graphic, Ceres Silver bumpers and privacy glass.
Inside, the instrument panel crossbeam is finished in brushed Grasmere Green powder coat and laser-etched detailing. The seats are finished in ebony, with the centre console hockey stick featuring Robustec fabric.
Based on the high-spec HSE variant, technology includes a 3D Surround Camera, configurable Terrain Response, a Meridian sound system, Matrix LED front lighting, an 11.4” Pivi Pro infotainment system, Head-Up Display, a Wireless Device Charger, and folding fabric roof (a sliding panoramic roof is optional).
South Africa received only 10 Defender 90 and 30 Defender 110 75th Limited Edition units (priced at R1,741,000 and R1,780,000, respectively), so with the assistance of Nekkies Smit of the Gateway Off-Road Centre near Wellington, we were fortunate to secure a 110 D300 75th Limited Edition (the second unit off the line in Solihull) for our tribute to the brand.
A RICH HERITAGE
Land Rover has a rich and diverse heritage, with the original Series range (morphing into the original Defender) over the years complemented by models such as the Range Rover, Discovery, Freelander, Discovery Sport, Velar and the New Defender.
The first models had an 80” wheelbase, but this grew to 86” by 1954, with a 107” long-wheelbase model added. In 1956, it became 88” and 109”, leading to the 90 and 110 descriptions for the short-wheelbase and long-wheelbase models. However, many special derivatives with shorter and longer wheelbases, such as the 127” model, later known as the 130, were tested and developed.
Interestingly (and in keeping with the 100th edition of Driven), a few 100” prototypes – perceived as the optimum dimension for a Land Rover by many – were also tested. This included coil-sprung derivatives with Range Rover running gear in 1976, as well as around 25 100” prototypes (some with V8 engines) for French and Swiss army evaluation in 1978.
Also, Following the 1989 introduction of the Discovery, the term “Land Rover” became the name of a broader marque. Thus in 1990, the 90 and 110 models were branded as Defender 90 and Defender 110, respectively, and the 127 became the Defender 130.
SOUTH AFRICAN LEGACY
In South Africa, the Land Rover legacy started in 1949 when the first Series I-models were sold here. In August 1950, Car Distributors Assembly (CDA) assembled the first Land Rovers in East London. CDA produced Series Land Rovers from 1950 to around 1956.
Meanwhile, Rover South Africa was registered on 28 September 1955, and a manufacturing plant subsequently opened in Port Elizabeth. In 1956 the plant assembled a peak of 34 vehicles per week, and by 1963 – 60 years ago – the facility was making chassis and petrol tanks from South African steel, in line with local content requirements.
With Leyland’s acquisition of Rover/Land Rover and the subsequent merger with BMH (British Motor Holdings) in 1968 to form British Leyland, production moved to Cape Town. Here, assembly continued until 1987. By 1972, the local content of Land Rover had reached 44% in vehicle weight.
This increased further with the assembly of the unique-to-South Africa Series IIIS. By 1982, the Leyland (Leykor) plant in Blackheath was recognised as the largest Land Rover assembly plant outside the United Kingdom. However, with the acquisition of Rover by BMW in 1994, production moved to a small plant in Rosslyn, outside Pretoria.
THE LEGENDARY 2.8I MODELS
Here, the legendary Defender 2.8i with BMW M52 engine (143 kW and 280 Nm of torque) was developed and built from 1997 to 2001. This model could reach more than 180 km/h (later models were restricted to 160 km/h) – making it the fastest production Defender ever produced. Total production until 2001 was 1,395, which included 656 Defender 90s and 739 Defender 110s.
Land Rover also built 26 50th Anniversary Edition 90s with the BMW engine. They were painted Santorini Blue with special side decals (Nekkies is busy restoring an original 50th Anniversary Edition). Each was randomly numbered from 1 to 50, as 24 50th Anniversary edition 110s were also built, only with a diesel engine. This special 110 was called “Safari” and painted a limestone green.
FAMOUS FOREBEARS
Besides the Defender 75th Limited Edition, some of the other unique models we assembled for our tribute shoot included an original 1953 Series I (also painted in the original Grasmere Green), a rare 40-year-old British-registered coil-sprung 1983 One Ten (the precursor to the Classic Defender range), a black 2008 Defender 110 60th Anniversary Edition, and the 2016 Defender Heritage Edition – the last of the original Defenders.
Another 1998 special edition was the Heritage model, only available in the two original colours offered in 1948: dark bronze green and light pastel Atlantic green. This model was not available locally. In January 2018, Land Rover also unveiled the powerful Defender Works V8 – in essence, “resto-mods” produced by Land Rover Classic division – as part of the Defender’s 70th anniversary.
Production of the original Land Rover Defender finally ended on 29 January 2016 after a continuous run of 67 years. In total, 2,016,933 Series and Defender models were produced. The last Defender rolled off the production line with the number plate H166 HUE, a reference to the first-ever pre-production Landy. The new 2020 Land Rover Defender made its global debut in September 2019.
*We sincerely thank Nekkies Smit and his team from Gateway Off-Road Centre near Wellington for their assistance in making this photo shoot possible.
Report by FERDI DE VOS | Images © RYAN ABBOTT
