Land Rover Defender is one of the world’s most popular and sought-after premium lifestyle off-roaders. Despite being priced more than its rivals like Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler, Defender has a dedicated fan following. All thanks to a neo-retro design Land Rover has inculcated and captured the essence of bygone Defenders.

Despite a new model range being launched, bygones are still trendy. This is due to their sheer iconic-ness (if that’s a word). In India, Land Rover has launched Defender in 90 and 110 configurations. Folks who want to own an old Defender are not in luck as there aren’t many. But that doesn’t mean you can’t “possess” a pretend Land Rover Defender 110 of yesteryears.

Custom Land Rover Defender 110

One look at this vehicle from Punjab-based Big Daddy Modifiers is enough to appreciate the workmanship. For untrained eyes, this will easily pass off as the real deal. What is underneath, is a Mahindra Bolero. For this build, Big Daddy Modifiers have completely rebuilt its body shell along with a custom front bull bar, rock sliders, and a roll cage.

Length is increased considerably to achieve Defender 110 proportions. Bolero’s ladder-frame chassis is kept the same, and suspensions get a 4″ lift kit. All of this combined, makes this Bolero come extremely close to a Land Rover Defender 110. The thing that gave this vehicle away to me is its windscreen.

In earlier Defender, windscreen and window glass areas weren’t aligned. In this sense, the windscreen is placed visibly higher than its window line. Rest of the body shell is surprisingly close to a Defender. Take its front grille, headlights, taillights, and rear twin quarter panels flanking its rear windscreen, they all look very authentic.

These might not be very tough to fabricate given, Defender is a fairly simple machine. But where Big Daddy Modifiers really impressed me is in its details. Doors are reprofiled to retain Defender’s iconic lines. Front and rear fenders are all custom and are mended by hand. Even the bonnet looks very close to Defender’s.

Credibility of Custom Cars

Rear tailgate has been executed beautifully too. The lengthened body shell sits on the same sub-4m frame and doesn’t look disproportionate at all. All of these come together cohesively to make a very convincing custom Land Rover Defender 110. Interiors are clad with tan leatherette and the engine is kept in stock condition. Take a look at the detailed walkaround posted by Dayakaran vlogs.

Thing concerning me the most is credibility. This thing is definitely not ARAI certified. Hence making it illegal to drive on public roads. In India, any sort of modification is technically illegal. This jugaad Land Rover Defender 110 is no exception. No matter how good it looks, it is liable to be fined or even seized.

That said, this vehicle is being modded in Punjab where things like 6X6 Tata Safari Dicor exists. Car mod culture is fairly high in Punjab and Kerala, when compared to other states. If there are legal tussles, the owner can always use it within the confines of his personal property and never drive it on the road. It can be a showpiece for display as well. What do you think?

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