One-off Land Rover Defender will be seen by millions, driven by none
Land Rover Defender Works V8 has unveiled a one-off Selfridges Edition Defender that was disassembled and rebuilt from the ground up in a London department store. And by ground up, we mean 36 feet up.
The unique vehicle was lifted, piece by piece, by a crane and brought inside through a first-floor window. It was reassembled in the Designer Street Room menswear department at Selfridges’ flagship store, where it will remain on permanent display.
Land Rover Classic technicians rebuilt the Defender 4×4 in four days, encompassing 930 man hours. The vehicle began as a 2016 Defender 110 2.2 TDCi Pick Up five months ago. It features 25 bespoke elements, including Bronze Green paint, branded hood in Selfridges yellow, Selfridges badging, and retro-style seats with custom stitching.
Selfridges’ Buying and Merchandising Manager Sebastian Manes says the Defender will “act as a platform for our art and fashion partners and is a key feature within this dynamic space.” It will be left unlocked so that Selfridge shoppers— approximately two million each year—can sit inside it.
Both Land Rover and Selfridges have a rich British history. Land Rover is celebrating its 70th anniversary, while Selfridges will commemorate 110 years since American Harry Gordon Selfridge opened the Oxford Street store in 1909.
It’s been a busy year for Jaguar Land Rover Classic, which made headlines earlier this year with its all-electric E-Type Zero concept, followed by the announcement that it will offer an EV conversion service to the general public. In September, JLR introduced five versions of a vintage-looking infotainment system for classic Jaguar and Land Rover models.
We certainly wouldn’t mind buying some fresh new threads at Selfridges, somehow wrangling the Defender to the ground, and driving off in search of nasty dirt trails and peaty Scotch.
