2007 Land Rover - "BESPOKE" Defender 110 TD5 - Auto -

BESPOKE of Harrogate sits at the top of the list of firms dedicated to turning the Defender into something very special indeed, displaying a degree of restraint and good taste that Land Rover enthusiasts will know is rare in the marketplace. The vendor clearly agrees because this is his second car from the firm, following on from an earlier Defender 90.

Built by BESPOKE to display at the 2017 NEC Classic Car Show, No.138 in the series is a long-wheelbase Defender 110 Stationwagon that features just about every option the firm offered at the time; custom paint, a fully retrimmed interior, an automatic gearbox in lieu of the clumsy manual, a lightly breathed upon engine, and more. Much, much more. Even the owner doesn’t know the original build cost of his car, but having done some digging he estimates it would have been “eye-watering.”

He bought the car a year after it made its debut and, much to his chagrin, has now realised that it’s actually too good for him. The quality of fit ’n’ finish is so high that he doesn’t feel comfortable using it properly; as a lifelong professional engineer, he is unusually mechanically sympathetic, which is bad news for his bank balance but good news for anyone looking to buy what might just be the most fastidiously built and maintained Land Rover Defender on sale in the UK today…

BESPOKE does not mess about when it comes to creating their vehicles, stripping their Defenders down to bare metal – and even removing the roof to ensure it doesn’t overlook even the smallest area.

Which is exactly what happened here.

The chassis and bulkhead was fully stripped and checked before paint, rust-and sound-proofing ensuring that you are effectively looking at a new truck.

Finished in the wonderful Nara Bronze with a contrasting Santorini Black roof, wing-top vents and wheelarch extensions, the body colour changes hue depending on how the light catches it. It really is a wonderful take on a traditional shade and works beautifully. (please note that Land Rover are currently using Nara Bronze as one of the new Defender’s launch colours)

Of course, the bodywork is as straight and beautifully aligned as you would expect a hand-crafted, and fully restored Land Rover Defender to be, and it is certainly way better than JLR ever managed in period. It’s so good that the fit-and-finish wouldn’t look out of place on a new Bentley.

The bare-bones, fully painted Defender was then adorned with a series of carefully curated and impeccably installed accessories that includes a pair of BESPOKE side-steps, a full-width rear North American-spec rear bumper with an integral step and towbar, privacy glass in the rear, a BESPOKE lightweight vented bonnet, a Bentley-style mesh heritage grille, and a black BESPOKE billet aluminium side vent.

Lighting is courtesy of a front bumper fitted with LED daytime running lights, plus a pair of LED headlights, and a 13-piece LED light kit that turns night-time into day at the flick of a switch.

It sits on 16-inch steel ‘Wolf’ wheels that have been finished in gloss black, shod with matching BF Goodrich All-Terrain tyres, and installed using 25mm wheel spacers for an even better stance.

Stainless steel security bolts have been used where appropriate and, as you can see, the whole thing looks utterly gorgeous.

Problems? Well, the only thing of note a couple of stonechips. Sadly, that big bluff front does tend to attract them but what few there are have been carefully touched-up and are all but unnoticeable. There is also the lightest of dinks above the nearside headlight.

The interior is even more luxuriously appointed than the exterior, BESPOKE starting the process by equipping it with black and cappuccino high-back leather front seats with a diamond-quilt stitching to their centre panels. Both the second and third row seats were then finished in the same material, and all nine seatbelts were custom-made and cappuccino in colour.

Incidentally, the rear-most four seats are set in a 2+2 arrangement and fold up and out of the way when they aren’t needed, allowing the rear load area to be used when you’re not using the Defender as the most luxurious minibus in the country.

All four door cards are trimmed in matching black and cappuccino leather, as is the rear door trim panel and steering wheel. The centre console is cappuccino leather, and the pure wool carpets are edged in Nappa leather and laid on top of the firm’s Level 2 soundproofing.

Suede has been used to trim the headlining, window surrounds, and dashboard, and an aluminium trim pack and an alloy transfer-lever gearknob add a hint of metal to the otherwise organic finish.

Technological changes include a double-din navigation system with Bluetooth and a DAB radio.

As you can see from the photographs, it is utterly glorious and in an immaculate condition. As a show car it might be fully loaded, yet there isn’t a single item in there that is superfluous or looks over-blown.

As you’ll have no doubt gathered by now, BESPOKE wouldn’t go this far and leave the underpinnings stock. This means you will find a Stage 2 power upgrade to the engine and, even more significantly, gear-changing is now taken care of by a four-speed automatic gearbox.

The Defender is suspended via BESPOKE progressive, lowered springs and a full set of Bilstein dampers.

It drives beautifully and is a very different beast to the one that left the factory in 2007. It’s taut and tight and has an impressive urge – and it’s wonderful not to have to battle the over-long gearstick and ultra-stiff clutch pedal. This really is how the Defender should have driven when it was new. The vendor drove it 200 miles to our HQ for the sale.

The engine bay is ridiculously clean, as is the underside. The car might be 13 years old and have 74,000 miles on the clock, but this rebuild could also be described as a restoration, ensuring it really is like new, inside and out.

The Land Rover’s MOT certificate expires in March 2021, and as might be expected given its history and mileage, every single one of its MOTs has been gained without a single advisory point since its BESPOKE conversion. This means that the online MOT history shows nothing of concern whatsoever and confirms the car’s mileage.

The car comes with a number of expired MOT certificates plus a sheaf of invoices and bills to confirm the recent work that has been done to it. It also comes with the original owner’s handbook, and stamped service history booklet. There is also a copy of the advert from when the owner bought it less than two years ago for almost £47,000, plus the car’s V5 registration document.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been converted and maintained to the very highest standard.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

NB. We know that many of you will be limiting your social exposure over the coming days and weeks, so if you’d rather not come to see the car in person, please give us a call and we can shoot a personal video of the car honing in on any areas you’d like us to concentrate on.

Or, even better, why not contact us with your mobile number and we can set up a WhatsApp video call? You get to direct us in real-time, giving you a virtual personal viewing experience while maintaining the lockdown. We like to call it ‘The Market’s 2020 Vision’…

If the standard Defender is a little too uncouth for you (and heh, we’re not judging; God knows, we know enough people who’ve splashed out ridiculous sums to bring their own up to what most folk would consider an acceptable level…) then this BESPOKE edition might be right up your (unmade) street.

Impeccably finished and still in much the same condition as it was when it was displayed on the firm’s stand in 2017, we couldn’t even begin to hazard a guess as to what it would cost you to replicate it. But, we’re willing to bet it would nudge six-figures, a sum that is now very easy to spend on the all-new Defender too, incidentally…

Which makes our estimate of £30,000 to £40,000 seem like small change for such a beautifully built and impeccably specified example - and remember, professional retro-modded Defenders have something of a cult following, so there should be a ready market for it when you want to move it on again, so the cost of ownership might end up being considerably less than you think.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Footman James for classic car insurance Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car and AnyVan for transporting it.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.

Please note that this is sold as seen and that, as is normal for used goods bought at auction, the Sale of Goods Act 1979 does not apply. See our FAQs for more info, and feel free to inspect any vehicle as much as you wish.