Curbside Classic: 1996 Land Rover Defender Diesel – An English Off-Roading Icon

 

While passing through a neighborhood in San Diego I stumbled across an oddity: a Land Rover Defender. Well, not exactly an oddity in the sense that it’s still on the road, but that it isn’t a US spec one. A reality immediately evident by the plate and the right-hand drive configuration for even the layman to see. So what was so special about this one to pay for its travels to a land an ocean away from its home country?

Well, for starters, the coolness factor alone is enough for them to pay for themselves; it’s simply an icon of the British automotive culture. I suspect that’s why this one made it overseas; after all, its street tires and suburban residence doesn’t speak to off-roading.

The Land Rover Defender is a direct descendant of the original Land Rover. Land Rover itself being an offshoot of the brand Rover. So let’s start there. The Rover brand had been around since the start of the automotive industry, dating back to 1904. They were producers of motorcycles at the time, so naturally they moved into the new business of transportation: automobiles.

While their first couple of vehicles weren’t notable outside of their own company history, they provided a foundation on which they would grow. Keeping up with the trends and common replacement of management allowed them to survive as other British automakers met the wasteside. The late 1920s saw them push upward in the marketplace to become a premium automaker.

 

Indeed they met this goal with the production of multiple premium models from the Rover Light 6 to the Rover 10. The former of which helped the brand earn notoriety by participating in Blue Train Races, a series of events in which Trains and Automobiles timed races between Calais and the French Riviera. A 1929 Rover light six earned the honors of being the first car to beat a train on its 750-mile journey between the two sites.

With this newly found brand recognition, the company was given ample marketing and funding to have a relatively comfortable time until the Second World War. The war had the Rover company working for the British government to fulfill its needs; this included engines, lorries, and other transportation equipment. During this era, as with most automotive brands, little made its way to individual consumers. Cars like the Rover 16 were simply put on hiatus and then reproduced following the war.

With the restart of production, their P2 model range (12, 14, and 16) all saw reproduction, but they had been around since the mid-30s and were in need of replacement. However, times were tough coming out of the war and resources were limited, even on the Allied side of Europe. They were in need of a simple to build vehicle to get the company back on its feet. Inspired by the Jeeps of WWII, they set to work creating their own counterpart.

 

The prototype they came up with was the Centre Steer. It was a simple 4×4 beast that would work both in England as well as for export. There are significant changes between the only prototype created and the production truck. As shown, the prototype received central steering (hence the name), allowing it to work for any market without the cost of retooling. It also served utilitarian purposes as well, given that the arrangement provided extra cabin storage. While this saw a change, the vehicle’s overall purpose remained.

 

Its design made it cheap to build; a way to ensure profits and build up reserves in the engineering budget, while earning extra material allocations from the government. The features added over development made improvements that went a long way towards the usability and longevity of the design. These included updates to the styling, a non-centrally located driver seat, and a newer powertrain. All of this on its own unique chassis, which became the Land Rover Series I.

 

The series I Land Rover launched in April of 1948. While retaining simple attributes, it did have some innovative design. The powertrain featured a newly designed running gear; the transfer case allowed disengagement from the front wheels when four-wheel drive was not needed. This was fed by a 4-speed manual transmission that would be shared with the new Rover P3 cars. Ahead of that gearing was a 1.6-liter carryover engine from before the war. Two more engine options were added along the way with both being 2 liters in displacement. These replaced the old 1.6 mill and came with a more traditional four-wheel drive system. One was a gas model while the other a diesel.

The body also underwent some changes over the Series I lifespan. The chassis was a steel unit with aluminum built atop it, and this body-on-frame configuration allowed them to offer several variants. The small SUV gave birth to a truck; a longer wheelbase and four doors were added in the 1950s. While originally rather basic, they eventually offered luxuries not found in the class. Doors and roofs were available for England’s unpredictable weather. Aftermarket fitters and coach builders offered amenities such as wood, heating, and leather.

 

Iterative updates continued with the series II and III featuring more power and options. Series II took over in 1958 with the end of Series I. It was split into two categories, one being the original II (’58-’61) and the later models designated the IIA (’61-’71). Series III ran from 1971 to 1985. Naming conventions start to get odd as per usual for these English cars due to their market longevity, as well as the parent company’s changing fortunes.

 

Rover and its Land Rover joined the British Leyland conglomerate in 1968. In 1970, the Range Rover was added alongside the Land Rover line as a more upmarket alternative. Whereas the Land Rover was a utilitarian machine that could be driven on the road, the Range Rover was a wagon with all the utility and capabilities. Land Rover (Ltd) then became its own subsidiary of British Leyland in 1978, now housing both Land Rover and Range Rover under its name.

 

This created a span of time when the car had a brand name, but no proper model name besides its designation of being a series III. In 1983, the Land Rover 90 and 110 were produced with the numeric designation referring to the wheelbase length in inches (although the 90 is actually longer due to their metric measurements). Shortly after, in 1985, the series III was killed. The 90, 110, and the introduced 127 would all eventually fall into one name: the Defender. The Defender moniker was introduced in 1990, stemming from the introduction of another sibling, the Land Rover Discovery.

 

Going forward, I’m going to be using the name Defender to represent anything from 1983 forward, as they are virtually identical vehicles from an engineering standpoint (This is not to upset the diehard enthusiasts, but rather to make it an easier read). The Defender brought with it a number of improvements over the old series III. In addition to a new name, there were notable changes to the chassis: Engines received more power, new engines and transmissions were introduced, coil springs were added, a more advanced four-wheel drive system found its way into it, along with more comfort features. The latter included a new interior, better windows, insulation, and looks. Other changes would make their way into the car as it soldiered on until 2016.

 

So what specifically is the car we’re looking at? What was spotted was a 1996 County trim Defender with the turbo diesel engine. Were it not for it wearing its original number plate, I likely wouldn’t have been able to gather this much detail given the nameplate’s evolutionary design. We didn’t receive the diesels stateside, as all North American Specification (NAS) Defenders featured the Buick derived V8.

 

Given the model year, we are seeing the 300 Tdi. A heavy rework of the 200 Tdi; it makes 111hp and 195 lb/ft of torque. These engines have a reputation for reliability, especially backed by our featured cars’ manual transmission. Specifications lead me to believe this is the R380 5-speed as opposed to the LT77. At this point in the Defenders cycle, we didn’t see any BMW parts despite being acquired by the company in 1994. They would later be purchased by Ford in 2006, an event still within the Defender’s life cycle.

Earlier Defender models such as this one see values ranging from $30,000 USD to over $100,000, depending on the model, mileage, and condition. In the UK, from the limited information I could find, these were around 20k pounds in ‘96. In the US, they were selling for around 30k dollars, although they were specified differently by country (The more basic models weren’t available in the US). This being a county model means that it has rear seats and is a more family-oriented model. The “hard tops” were the utility-oriented ones that only had front seats, while the rear was metal only for cargo applications. County packs could be fitted to those however, in a twisted definition of their meaning.

 

These cars have been hot on the market for a while, so it’s no surprise to see one imported. Especially given the lack of sales numbers in the US. Land Rover released the new Defender in 2020 shortly after the discontinuation of the original. Now, under Jaguar Land Rover, the company has shifted a lot of units with a variety of engines and packs like those of yesteryear. We will see how long they can keep the model going given the ever tightening emission and safety standards. I can only wish well on one of the original off-roaders, no matter the creator or origin.

 

Additional Reading:

Curbside Outtake: 2019 Land Rover Defender 110 Prototype Vehicle – First Impressions Matter

CC Outtake: 2008 Land Rover Defender 110 Hard Top – All Work And No Play