WAIVING FAREWELL TO DEFENDER

4x4magazine | 30/01/2016 | 0 Comments

Land Rover celebrated 68 years of history yesterday as the last of the current Defenders was produced at its famous Solihull production facility.

To mark the occasion Land Rover invited more than 700 current and former Solihull employees involved in the production of Series Land Rover and Defender vehicles to see and drive some of the most important vehicles from its history, including the first pre-production ‘Huey’ Series I as well as the last vehicle off the production line, a Defender 90 Heritage Soft Top.

More than two million Series Land Rovers and Defenders have been built in Solihull, UK since 1948. What began as simply a line drawing in the sand has gone on to become one of the world’s most iconic 4x4s, earning the accolade of being the most versatile vehicle on the planet, capable of taking owners to the places other vehicles couldn’t reach. In 2015, a unique milestone Defender – the ‘Defender 2,000,000’ sold for a record £400,000 – a far cry from the original £450 the first Land Rover sold for at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show.

The Defender Celebration in Solihull saw more than 25 unique vehicles from Land Rover’s history come together in a procession around the Solihull plant, featuring the final current Defender vehicle off the line. Land Rover associates were joined by a number of previous employees from the past 68 years to help celebrate this historic day.

The last of the current Defender vehicles includes an original part that has been used on Soft Top specifications since 1948 – the hood cleat. The vehicle will be housed in the Jaguar Land Rover Collection.

At the same time, Land Rover announced a new Heritage Restoration Programme, which will be based on the site of the existing Solihull production line. A team of experts, including some long serving Defender employees, will oversee the restoration of a number of Series Land Rovers sourced from across the globe.

Land Rover has also announced the upcoming launch of its online ‘Defender Journeys’ platform, which will allow the legendary model to live-on in a digital environment. The innovative online hub will allow owners to upload details of their most memorable journeys in a Series Land Rover or Defender. The aim is to crowd source journeys from Land Rover drivers and plot them on a single online map, preserving the memories of amazing adventures that have taken place in the iconic 4×4 for future generations.

The closure of the Solihull production line will also bring an end to Land Rover’s Celebration Line exhibit, although this too will live on. The replica 1948 production line has attracted more than 10,000 visitors in the last 12 months and charts the life of the Land Rover Defender from its origins in 1948 to the present day.