A one-of-a-kind Land Rover Defender, the two millionth to come off the production line, has sold at auction for NZ$890,000.
Sold to a bidder from Qatar, the vehicle was built in May 2015 by an all-star cast of brand ambassadors and people from Land Rover’s history including Bear Grylls, Virginia McKenna OBE and Stephen and Nick Wilks, sons of the founders of Land Rover.
All proceeds from the sale will be donated to Land Rover’s humanitarian and conservation partners: the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), who will use the donation to help communities in South-East Nepal to improve how they tackle natural disasters, and the Born Free Foundation who plan to use the funds to support the ‘Project Lion Rover’ wildlife conservation initiative in Meru National Park, Kenya.
The vehicle, built as part of a year of celebrations for the much loved 4×4 which will cease manufacturing in Solihull in January 2016, boasts bespoke finishing features including an engraved map of Red Wharf Bay – where the design for the original Land Rover was first drawn in the sand, and a unique ‘no 2,000,000’ badge.
Inside, the leather seats also feature the ‘Red Wharf Bay’ graphic and ‘no 2,000,000’ logos have been stitched on the headrests.
A bespoke aluminium plaque, signed by everyone who helped to assemble the vehicle is fitted to the driver’s seat. Special S90 HUE registration plates provide a fitting tribute to the first ever pre-production Land Rover, registration ‘HUE 166.”
