LR Celebrates Iconic Defender In London

In order to promote the upcoming charity auction of the Defender 2,000,000 on December 16, Land Rover sent out a one-of-a-kind Defender 'Taxi' to roam the streets of London. The iconic Defender remains one of the most widely appreciated 4x4s in history. Production actually started all the way back in 1947 (LR Series I), but the car was shown to the public at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show. Since then, the Solihull plant produced two million units of the Series I, II, III and Defender. As for the "bespoke" Defender taxi, its main goal was to actually star in a commemorative film, celebrating a global icon and promoting the charity auction that's to be held at the Bonhams New Bond Street headquarters next week. Released today, the film also features a few other, even more unusual vehicles, such as a Series II ice cream van, a specially tailored Paul Smith Defender and even the first ever Series Land Rover show car - yes the one they originally brought to the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show. The Defender 2,000,000 stands out in plenty of ways all on its own. It's got a map of Red Wharf Bay engraved into the aluminum fender and a unique '2,000,000' badge at the rear, while color-wise we're looking at a Silver satin exterior mixed with Santorini Black wheels and wheel arches, roof, door hinges, grille and mirror caps. Inside, the seats also feature the 'Red Wharf Bay' graphic and '2,000,000' logos (headrests), while a bespoke aluminum plaque signed by those who helped assemble the vehicle is located on the driver's seat plinth. All proceeds from the Defender 2,000,000's auction will be donated to LR's humanitarian partners, specifically the IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent) and the Born Free Foundation

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