One of the best-loved and longest-lived vehicles in the world is to officially cease production today after nearly 70 years.
The last Land Rover Defender will officially roll off the line at Jaguar Land Rover’s plant in Solihull, marking the end of a 68-year constant production run for the iconic 4x4.
Able to trace its lineage directly back to the very first Series I Land Rover which debuted in 1948, the Defender was initially planned to be phased out in December thanks to tougher emissions standards.
However, production was extended into early 2016 due to a late surge of interest from buyers. In 2014, 17,781 Defenders were made and the figures from 2015 are expected to be even bigger.
The Land Rover Defender’s appeal stretched from farmers to royalty, and Land Rover holds a royal warrant as a supplier to the royal household, a relationship which dates all the way back to 1948.
End of an icon
King George VI viewed the original Series I model back when it was released, and The Queen, who has been pictured behind the wheel of many Defenders over the year, received her first in 1952.
Launched at the Amsterdam Motor Show, the first Land Rover was dreamed up by the Rover Company as part of a drive to get British car manufacturing moving again after World War II.
The brainchild of Rover chief engineer Maurice Wilks, the original model was famously sketched in the sand on an Anglesey beach and based on the US Army’s Willys Jeep.
More than two million Land Rover Defenders have been sold since, and throughout its 68-year history there have been more than 300 variants in total.
Jaguar Land Rover is currently working on the Defender’s replacement, and a spokesman said that the company would hold a small event at its Solihull plant in honour of the vehicle today.