Land Rover Defender Churchill Edition is a tribute to Britain’s wartime PM
Limited-run Classic Defender gets a stonking great 400bhp V8, but nowhere to store your cigars
This is the Land Rover Defender V8 Churchill Edition – a limited run of 10 cars paying tribute to the British wartime prime minister’s Land Rover Series I, which was gifted to him in 1954. Three bodystyles are available and all cars feature Bronze Green paint with Bridge of Weir leather inside.
Based on the classic Defender, which went out of production in 2016, the Churchill is offered in a choice of 90 or 110 bodystyles, with the former available either as a Station Wagon or a Soft Top. Land Rover says every model is “comprehensively rebuilt and re-engineered for comfort and performance” featuring the familiar 399bhp 5.0-litre petrol V8, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Prices start from a not inconsequential £232,500 (excluding VAT). If you’re interested in a more accessible route to Land Rover ownership, our Buy A Car service currently has new examples of the Defender available from £60,000, a tidy saving on list price.
What makes the Churchill Edition stand out?
That green paint has apparently been “carefully matched to the original vehicle” by the experts at Classic Works. The look is complimented by galvanised exterior elements and 16-inch heavy-duty steel wheels. The cars get a mesh grille and matt-black headlight surrounds, plus bespoke badging and ‘UKE 80’ decals on the wings; matching the numberplate fitted to Winston Churchill’s old car.
Inside, there’s “luxurious” semi-aniline Bottle Green and Windsor Ebony leather on the seats, passenger grab handles and headliner. The dashboard doesn’t get the modern Defender’s infotainment display or digital dials, with tech highlights including a single DIN stereo head unit with navigation, DAB radio and Bluetooth, and a “unique” clock design inspired by Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill champagne.
The Soft Top (priced from £242,500 ex. VAT) features a made-to-measure canvas hood with rear and side sections that can be unzipped and rolled up for “open-air driving”. Land Rover Classic has apparently added extra tie-down points to keep the canvas in place at higher speeds.
Land Rover says the Defender Classic’s V8 is good for 0-62mph in as little as 5.9 seconds in the 90, or 6.1 seconds in the 110. Top speed stands at 106mph across all three models. Every car gets a two-speed transfer box, heavy-duty front and rear differentials and a torque-biasing centre differential. There’s Eibach coil springs and anti-roll bars, Bilstein telescopic dampers and Alcon brakes, too.
Land Rover Classic’s new Churchill Edition is available to order now alongside the firm’s 90 and 110 variants of the Classic Defender V8. We’re told that the cars are “all available for Works Bespoke clients to commission to their own specification”.
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