Land Rover Defender ‘Churchill Edition’ costs from £279,000

Land Rover Classic Works reveals the Land Rover Defender Churchill Edition, a more modern recreation of the Series I gifted to Sir Winston Churchill. Costs from £279,000.

It’s nearly a decade since the Classic Land Rover Defender went out of production, but it’s still being refurbished and churned out as ‘Special Edition’ offerings by Land  Rover Works at high prices to empty the pockets of well-heeled Series and Defender Land Rover lovers.

In the last year, we’ve seen the Classic Land Rover Defender V8 Soft Top at £234,000 and the Classic Land Rover Defender V8 at £228,000, and now we get another Classic Defender special with the Land Rover Defender Churchill Edition costing from £279,000.

The Churchill Edition Defender is a tribute to the Land Rover Series I gifted to Sir Winston Churchill back in 1954 – registration number OKE 80, which sold for £129k back in 2012 – and is an offering of 10 units in either 90 or 110 guise and offered as a Station Wagon or (for the 90), a Soft Top.

Based on a rebuilt and re-engineered late model Defender, the ‘Churchill’ comes with a 400bhp V8 and eight-speed auto ‘box as well as a two-speed transfer box, front, rear and centre locking diffs, Eibach coil springs, anti-roll bars, Bilstein dampers and Alcon brakes.

On the exterior, there’s a green paint job matched to the original Series I, ‘UKE 80’ badging on the front wings, mesh grille, 16″ steelies, new canvas top and side panels for the 90 Soft Top with extra tie-down points, bespoke ‘Churchill’ badging and matt black headlight surrounds.

Inside is nothing like the Churchill original, with Bottle Green semi-aniline Windsor leather, a DIN stereo head unit with NAV, DAB and Bluetooth and a clock inspired by Pol Roger’s Sir Winston Churchill Champagne.

Prices for the Churchill Defender start at £279,000 for the 90, £291,000 for the 90 Soft Top and £295,200 for the 110.