Celebrating 67 years of production, Land Rover has assembled a unique Defender model for charitable auction at its Solihull, UK facility that represents the numerologically significant 2,000,000th Series Land Rover and Defender ever produced.
Among its oddities, ‘Defender 2,000,000’ features a map of Red Wharf Bay – where the first Land Rover design was drawn in the sand – engraved into the fender and stitched into the headrests, and ‘no 2,000,000’ badges placed on the rear of the vehicle and the interior console.
“Over 67 years, the Series Land Rover and in turn Defender has been the transport of choice for explorers, charity organisations, farmers and even royalty,” said Dr Ralf Speth, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover.
“What started life as an agricultural workhorse has transcended the automotive world to become a worldwide design icon that throughout history has helped pioneers to reach the unreachable.”
In addition, a plaque signed by personalities including outdoorsman Bear Grylls and Virginia McKenna OBE, founder of the Born Free Foundation, has been fitted to the driver’s seat plinth, while the vehicle’s registration, ‘S90 HUE’, references the first ever pre-production Land Rover registration, ‘HUE 166’ *.
In December 2015, the vehicle will be auctioned at Bonhams in London, with all proceeds being donated to Land Rover’s humanitarian and conservation partners – the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Born Free Foundation.
“The auction of this milestone vehicle is a suitable way to celebrate the role that Defender has played in supporting our humanitarian aid and conservation partners over the decades,” noted Dr Speth.
Robert Brooks, Bonhams chairman, added: “Bonhams and Land Rover are quintessentially British, so it’s an honour to offer this landmark vehicle and I’ve no doubt there will be some spirited bidding.”
Production of the original Land Rover Series I began at the famous Lode Lane facility in 1947, and since then two million examples of the Series I, II III and Defender have been produced at Solihull.
* ‘HUE 166,’ the first ever pre-production Land Rover, nicknamed ‘Huey’ was a Defender 90 Station Wagon designed by Gerry McGovern and executed by Land Rover’s special vehicle operations team.
