Owner’s Build:
The One That Found Me.
Some things aren’t found, they find you. I was in Megève, delivering a Vintage Series V8 (no top) to Stéphane, spending a few days skiing with him and his family. The kind of trip that blends work and life so seamlessly that you forget where one ends and the other begins. One morning, after a long breakfast, he walked me to his garage, paused for a second, then lifted the door.
“You want it?”
There it was. A Defender 90 V8 50th Anniversary, number 81 out of just over a thousand ever made. I had been searching for the right one for a while, but I wasn’t expecting to find it that day, in that garage, in the middle of the French Alps and by chance an original LHD. We had our truck and trailer parked outside, it would have been so easy, just load it up, take it home.
Stéphane adds - “Only if you drive it home!”
So I did.
I left Megève in the heart of Winter, carving down frozen roads toward Geneva, the V8 rumbling like a heartbeat under the crisp mountain air. I picked up Mazari at the airport and decided to chase the Winter sun down south.
We took it along the entire French coast, through Provence, past the rolling vineyards and lavender fields, until we reached the Riviera. Saint-Tropez, the kind of place that changes depending on how you arrive. We arrived the right way, the smell of salt and pine in the air, the Defender’s leather warm from the sun, and that unmistakable soundtrack of a proper V8 echoing off the hills.
We completed the restoration last year and now it’s time for someone else to take the wheel. This Defender isn’t just a rare piece of Land Rover history, it’s a story, a journey, a car that was meant to be driven. If you get it, you get it.
This Defender comes with a little secret, something truly special that we can only share with its next owner. Let’s just say, the seats weren’t designed by just anyone.
Defender 90 V8 Automatic. 50th Anniversary Edition, number 81 out of only 1,071 made, a true blend of heritage and craftsmanship.
Finished in metallic light green, it features a dark green leather interior and matching dark green premium mohair soft top. Every detail has been carefully considered, from the matte green cabin, engine bay, and undercarriage for that rugged, authentic feel, to custom high-quality dark green mats finished in leather.
—4.0L V8 High Output Engine
—Automatic Gearbox
—CNV Performance Suspensions (Heavy Duty)
—Air Conditioning
—Power Steering
—Safety Devices NAS Front & Interior Roll Cage
—NAS Bumper
—Complete LED Lighting
—Custom ‘Old Style’ V8 Steel Wheels
—Rear Wheel Carrier
—Complete Soundproofing
—Regenerative PPF inside the cabin
—Bluetooth sound system incl. amp & subwoofer