Land Rover Defender parts, accessories and spare parts

Landrover Defender Inherits the Series Mystique

For nearly 40 years, the Landrover lorded over as the king of the hill, on the road and off the road, under any weather or loads. There was simply nothing like it. It was the first choice among farmers and explorers, governments and military organization, including the more practical minded families. It was the most robust and the most versatile vehicle with aftermarket conversion kits that made it an ambulance, a police patrol, an amphibious rescue car, a farm tractor, a delivery truck and a pick-up truck, to mention some.

With a sturdy 2-litter diesel or petrol engine and the famous Hardy-Spicer gear train, it can carry a ton of loads and haul 4 tons up 45-degree inclines under any weather or terrain.

Tracing the Defender Roots

Over this time, it has morphed little with models coming out from the Solihull factory near Birmingham with the very first Series 1 launched at the Amsterdam Motor Show in 1948.

It was followed by the Series II ten years later; then the IIA in 1961 and finally the Series III in 1971 before it finally got branded as the Landrover Defender in 1990, to distinguish it from another Landrover model, the Discovery.

Towards what may seem like the end of its life, the Landrover Series III was about to follow some naming convention based on its wheelbase length �the short wheelbase Landrover 90 used in the 3-door model and the longer Landrover 110 for the 5-door model. In 1983, there appeared a third longer wheelbase Landrover 127 and the 130 which carried more powerful V8 engines.

But thanks to the introduction of the Discovery line, the old Landrover series simply had to get a name - hence the Defender. The naming convention made it easy for the Landrover Defender to adopt the same model distinctions. Hence, you have the wheelbase-based variants under the Defender name such as the Defender 90, Defender 110 and Defender 130.

Their engines underwent an overhaul such as turbo charging, intercooling and direct fuel injection on a 2.5 littler 200Tdi engine allowing 11 hp that enabled the Landrover Defender to achieve a more comfortable ride and faster cursing speeds than its predecessors.

Changing Hands

Between 1948 and 1990, the Landrover name changed hands twice. First produced by the Rover Company, the marque came under the government owned -owned British Leyland Motors in 1967 which acquired the Rover Company in its entirety. The company was then privatized as the Rover Group Plc before being purchased by the British Aerospace in 1988.

It was right in the middle of getting the Landrover Defender name in the drawing boards when the Rover Group finally went out of British hands into the loving arms of the Germans when BMW acquired it in 1994. At this time, BMW has the Defender, the Discovery and the Range Rover line to worry about.

It didn�t last long as BMW was really more interested in putting out its own SUV than developing the Landrover name. So off it went to the Americans under Ford Motors in 2000 and promptly sold it to the Tata Group in the midst of the global recession in 2008. Tata now enjoys sales resurgence in the Jaguar and Land Rover marques.

Today, the Landrover Defender still retains the spartan simplicity that has been the signature of the Landrover name for all its 62 years on and off the road. There have been enhancements that made it more upscale in line with market expectations for an SUV culminating with its 50th and 60th anniversary model.

But there have been models that went other way with its Heritage models that were as barren as the first Series 1 Landrovers. 2012 will see a totally revamped Landrover Defender and expectations are high this will be a landmark design that will have little resemblance to its 62-year heritage.