© Nick Dimbleby
They're styled after the iconic Camel Trophy competition trucks, make 400 horsepower, and cost the equivalent of $270,000.
Land Rover announced Wednesday its Classic division will be"re-engineering" a selection of last-generation Defenders for a limited run of special edition V-8-powered trucks. The Defender Works V8 Trophy, meant to celebrate the truck's expedition-filled heritage, comes in either 90 or 110 body style, and starts from £195,000 (around $270,000) in the U.K.
The throwback livery is a nod to the Camel Trophy, a hardcore off-roading event put on in the Eighties and Nineties that had teams representing different countries attempt to cross a challenging terrain behind the wheel of a Land Rover. In addition to the neat yellow hue, there's a front winch, an exterior roll cage, a roof rack, extra underbody protection, spotlights, a raised air intake, and 16-inch paint-matched wheels wrapped in mud-terrain tires.
Under the hood sits a naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V-8 engine sending 400 horsepower and 379 lb-ft of torque to all four wheels via an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission. To handle the extra thrust, better brakes and a"handling kit" have been added.
Land Rover Classic is building just 25 examples of the Defender Works V8 Trophy. Each buyer will get an invite to an exclusive"three-day adventure" at Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire, where the company performed much of its early testing and development. There, owners will be able to put their new Defenders to the test with the help of professional instructors.
Unfortunately, since Land Rover stopped selling the original Defender in the U.S. back in 1997, the Works V8 Trophy is not available for buyers in America. But for $270,000, we have no doubt you can get a restomod company to build you one that'll look and perform identically, should you so desire.