This Land Rover Defender Islay Edition pays tribute to brand’s origins

Och aye the noo, Land Rover Classic has revealed its first heritage themed Classic Works Defender V8 which pays tribute the Isle of Islay in Scotland.

That may sound like a strange thing to base a special edition model on but it all comes together when you realise Spencer Wilks, Managing Director of the Rover and one of the founders of Land Rover, had an estate on the island where he tested vehicles.

One such vehicle was his 1965 Series IIa which the Classic Defender Works V8 Islay Edition directly takes after with its Heritage Grey bodywork, Limestone roof and matching steel wheels.

A classic style grille drives home the heritage feel up front, as do the traditional Land Rover logos, badges and mud flaps. Unique to the Islay Edition is a small side decal which reads ‘GXC 639C’, the registration number of Wilks’ old Landy.

The British carmaker says the interior is where the special edition really shows its origins, with ebony leather cladding the seats along with green tweed fabric, crafted by the Islay Woollen Mill, featuring on various elements too.

Next to the gear selector is a plaque which explains how the Land Rover name came about. To save you from having to buy the four-wheel drive itself, estate gamekeeper, Ian Duncan, supposedly said to Wilks – who was testing a heavily modified Rover that would become the Series I on Islay’s Laggan Estate – that it must be the new “Land” Rover he was driving.

There’s also a few removable trays in the central storage compartment which are made up of oak whisky barrels found at Kilchoman distillery on the Hebridean islands. Other wooden features include oak veneer detailing on the boot floor and on the central dashboard clock.

What the new model has that the old one doesn’t though is a thumping great big V8 under the bonnet (as it’s name might’ve given away).

The Works V8 models make use of Defenders built between 2012 and 2016 which are then fitted with a naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V8 making 302kW and 515Nm of torque, mated to an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission.

Each example is also specially selected and reengineered so prospective buyers can be rest assured that what they’re getting hasn’t come straight off a farm.

That brings us to pricing for the Land Rover Defender Islay Edition, starting from £230,000 ($NZ460,000) for the 90 of which 17 examples will be made, and £245,000 ($NZ490,000) for the 110 with 13 units available.