Estimated Price: £40,000 - £50,000

The icon. As much a part of British car culture as the Mini, the Jaguar E-Type or the Ford Escort - perhaps even more so. Though officially only known as a Defender from 1990, as a rebadge of the previous 90 and 110 models, it was instantly familiar given the evolutionary relationship with the Series Land Rovers that preceded them. To the layman, the different versions have almost become interchangeable, not least because each represents the utilitarian, unpretentious, rugged off-roader that made Land Rover famous.

Despite, or perhaps because of, being recognisably related (with the same charm and character) to the very first Land Rover of 1948, the Defender retained a steadfastly loyal customer base. Perhaps the most significant development, however, was nothing to do with a change in the vehicle’s appearance or specification - it was the gradual adoption amongst trendy metropolitan elites as their carriage of choice, taking the Land Rover legend from the country into the city. This created a new market of marque specialists who, as well and servicing and preserving the Defender, set about creating bespoke, enhanced and adapted examples for a client-base that truly value what the Defender represents.

One of the original and most well-respected ‘enhancers’ of Land Rovers are Overfinch. Founded in 1975 by Arthur Silverton as Shuler Presses in Surrey, the company tackled perceived flaws in early Range Rovers including swapping engines, first the Jaguar V12, then the GM V8, whilst also utilising automatic gearboxes, and adding handling improvements, braking upgrades, and luxury interiors. In 1981, a Shuler-prepared Range Rover triumphed in the gruelling Paris-Dakar Rally, cementing the brand’s reputation for performance and the company also received commissions from the UK Government to build armoured Range Rovers for VIP transport. They are still active offering upgrades and enhancements to Land Rover vehicles, launching its Heritage division in 2021 and focusing on restoring and re-imagining classic Land Rovers.

The vehicle presented here is 1998 Land Rover Defender 90 50th Anniversary, in itself, a very special example, to celebrate 50 years of Land Rover production. The factory built 1,071 Special Edition vehicles known as the 50th Anniversary Limited Edition with 385 remaining in the UK, 451 going to Japan, 180 to Germany, 25 to France, 20 to Holland and 10 to Belgium. The special edition was essentially an NAS (North American Specification) station wagon and consequently was very well equipped from new. All UK and European versions were finished in a rather distinctive hue known as Atlantis Blue and were powered by the Range Rover's 188bhp 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine mated to a 4-speed ZF automatic gearbox. They also featured air-conditioning, a front cabin Safety Devices roll-cage and each one came with a numbered commemorative plaque.

For the owner of this Defender, purchased in 2002 at 27,000 miles, however, this wasn’t enough, so, he approached Overfinch and commissioned a £20,000-upgrade programme (the equivalent of £45,000 today). The work included a 570HSi High Performance Engine (5.7-litre Chevrolet engine as used in a 1992-model Corvette) installation (Defender-spec) allied to their tubular manifold and sports exhaust, and a heavy duty cooling pack (£11,695); plus, a performance gearing conversion, suspension upgrade pack, precision steering conversion, and a quick ratio steering box, all with the required components and improvements to make the vehicle Overfinch-worthy.

The resultant Defender is one of just a handful of 50th Anniversary examples to receive the ‘full-fat’ Overfinch treatment, accompanied by all the relevant paperwork. This level of commitment to ownership is reflected in the years that followed the conversion work, with the Defender returning to Overfinch for further care in 2003 (£3,659.75), 2004 (£2,702.50), and in 2005 (£1,194.04). Additional enhancements include Recaro seating (£464.13), an Ashcroft Transmissions gearbox ratio upgrade (£499.38), a full repaint (Porsche Titanium) in 2004 (£8,378.88), and an Ashcroft Transmissions ZF gearbox rebuild/Torque Converter upgrade (£1,498.13). Bought (and cherished ever since) by our vendor in 2015, he has continued to bestow much care and attention on this special vehicle. Always garaged, he has ensured an engine oil/filter change annually, plus the axle, transfer box and swivel hubs are regularly flushed and renewed. He also renewed all the suspension with Land Rover specialists Alive Tuning of Lincolnshire (Bilstein B6 shocks and damper kit, Eibach lowered road-spec springs and Eibach uprated front and rear anti-roll bars - circa £3,500), ensuring that it is very much in-keeping with the original Overfinch feel and abilities. Allied to 8.5 x 16 ‘5c’ wide-track alloy wheels (which look like Land Rover 5-spoke wheels but are actually much wider at 8.5” plus have a bigger offset). Inside, there is a Pioneer AVIC-X1 sound system, touch-screen retro sat-nav with TV tuner, plus Trackstar system (with speed camera detection) and a Nokia phone/carrier (£3,244.94) - all emphasising just how lavished-upon this Defender has been. Accompanying by a large history file documenting its illustrious and pampered life, this is a extremely rare and bespoke Defender, befitting of its deserved reputation and wearing an appropriate registration of 'S50 OVR'; see here a review by EVO magazine:  

Evo Magazine review

Having now covered a very conservative 65,500 miles, this bespoke-engineered Defender is in fine fettle, offering its new owner a vehicle that was enhanced by the best-in-the-business and regardless of cost, at a time when engineering integrity was paramount. This Defender is a real cut-above many of the modern ‘enhanced’ examples with a pedigree which is hard to match.