As the life-span of the much-loved Land Rover Defender as we know it draws to an impending close, it seems only fitting that a specially adapted model has been developed to help promote the biggest sporting event in the UK calendar this year – the Rugby World Cup.
Built by Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations division, the specially-modified 110 Defender Station Wagon was designed to safely and securely display the Rugby World Cup – officially known as the Webb Ellis Cup during a tour of the UK to promote the tournament.
It took almost 6,000 hours to design and features a bespoke trophy cabinet at the rear of the vehicle. And a special app has also been developed to ensure the conditions are just right within the Defender – controlling the likes of the temperature, lighting, locking mechanism along with a 40-inch flat-screen that sits behind the trophy. The vehicle also comes fitted with toughened security glass.
The climate control system is crucial to ensuring the Trophy is always the star and visible to fans throughout the tour. It maintains a constant temperature within the cabinet to eliminate fogging and is aided by anti-glare security glass. To add a touch of theatre, three different lighting modes have been incorporated whilst the flat-screen TV plays a host of memorable moments from Rugby’s illustrious history.
The vehicle’s interior is based on the beautifully-styled Defender Autobiography edition and offers a high level of personalised design touches. For example, the Black Windsor leather seats have been embellished with gold contrast stitching and Rugby World Cup 2015 blue piping whilst the contrast stitch extends to the dashboard and doors. The Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour logo takes prominent position being embroidered onto the front headrests.
The Defender is driven by Land Rover’s proven 2.2-litre diesel engine mated to a six-speed manual transmission and the iconic all-terrain vehicle also features a front winch, aluminium sump guard, side and rear steps, modified raised air intake and expedition rack. These are complimented by striking Rugby World Cup 2015 graphics to the exterior.
We caught up with the special road-trip tour in Devon where Land Rover ambassador and Rugby World Cup 2003 winner, Lewis Moody, was also in attendance as he is very much looking forward to seeing his home nation in action at Twickenham when the Tournament kicks-off in September.
The father-of-two boys, who was forced to retire from the game through injury, has his own coaching company these days and spoke about driving, his dream car and the upcoming tournament.
He said: “I drive a Discovery, not just because I’m an ambassador for Land Rover, but because I love them. When you’ve got kids you want safety and practicality. I can go off to rugby matches, football matches and cricket matches and the Discovery is just perfect in that sense.”
But when it comes to England’s hopes for victory later this year, Lewis was slightly less confident of success when asked who would win the World Cup.
He said: “I honestly can’t answer that. I would love England to do it but I’m not sure if they’re ready yet. New Zealand are the favourites and then South Africa.
“Also having Australia and Wales in your pool isn’t ideal so it’s important to play well and win the warm-up games so that they go into the tournament with confidence. The opportunity that these guys have is huge and I hope they take it because the nation will get behind them with every ounce of their being.”
But rugby and Land Rover Defender aside, don’t be surprised one day if you spot the sporting superstar in his very own dream car – an AC Cobra.