The Latest Classic Land Rover Defender V8 Loses Its Roof

What you’re looking at is an old Land Rover Defender. That much should be obvious. Of course, it’s no ordinary old Land Rover Defender – it’s the latest in Landie’s series of Classic Defender V8s, essentially factory-fresh restomods powered by a gigantic, rumbly V8 motor.

This one, as you’ve doubtless spotted, is a bit different to all those other ones, because it’s got a fabric roof. Appropriately (but still a bit clunkily) named the Classic Defender V8 Soft Top, it’s a nod to the various sought-after soft-top versions of the original Defender, drawing most of its inspiration from the vaunted North American Spec (NAS) Defender 90 sold in the mid 1990s.

To create the CDV8ST (as we’ll call it for the sake of the word count), Land Rover’s Classic division sources one of the last of the old Defenders, built between its last big update in 2012 and the end of production in 2016. They then stuff in JLR’s 5.0-litre V8, minus the supercharger that’s usually strapped to it.

The lack of blower means power and torque are down to 399bhp and 380lb ft, but, hooked up to a modern eight-speed auto, it’s still enough to get the CDV8ST to 62mph in 5.6 seconds and on to a top speed of 106mph, which should feel like twice that in an old Defender with a fabric roof.

While it still has the original car’s quasi-medieval live beam axles at both ends, modern chassis kit comes in the form of Eibach springs, telescopic Bilstein dampers and Alcon four-pot disc brakes all round.

This car’s party piece is obviously its roof, which is available in two styles – a full hood with roll-up side and rear sections, or a smaller ‘bikini hood’ that protects those in the front seats only. Best only opt for that if you live somewhere sunny, i.e. not Britain. Either roof comes in the choice of black, sand, dark khaki or navy.

That colour choice is nothing compared to the paint options, though – 49 standard paint finishes, plus essentially infinite choice through the Works Bespoke paint-to-sample service. Inside, meanwhile, there are 13 standard leather options plus a further opportunity to let things get a bit silly through Works Bespoke. Then, you can spec things that you’ll definitely end up using, like a surfboard rack and an onboard wine cooler.

If you’re reading this and thinking it all sounds lovely, you’re not alone. There is a cost, though. Specifically, a cost of £234,000, the minimum you’ll need for one of these before you start letting your imagination run wild with the personalisation. Worth it over a regular old ragtop Defender? You can be the judge of that.