PART 1
The Land Rover Defender – the scion of the original Land Rover – has gained not only a cult following today, but also modern classic status. The finish of production in 2015 brought to an end 67 years of continual and incremental development that started with the original stop-gap Land Rover of 1948 and propelled the model to new heights of desirability and price.
That had the effect of significantly elevating the values of its predecessors, the Series Land Rovers, as well. Even Series IIIs, the least desirable and most common of the breed, can easily command £10,000 when fully restored, and half that if they’re remotely solid and presentable. And most people don’t want a short-wheelbase Truck Cab with barely enough room in the back for a border collie – the one everyone wants is the long-wheelbase Station Wagon with seating for 12, a double- skinned Safari roof and strains of the music from Born Free and Daktari blending with the whine of the transmission.
These were the original family-friendly 4x4s years before the SUV (or even the MPV) had been thought of, with enough space to carry a family of five, plus a friend
