Defending Colour

Adam Hughes, co-founder of Cape Town-based resto-shop JOURNEΥΜΕΝ WORKS, sheds light on the DESIGN LEGACY and COLOUR-TREND ACCURACY of the iconic Land Rover Defender.

- STEVE SMITH AND JOSIE HUGHES

VERY FEW VEHICLES CAN CLAIM the kind of cult following enjoyed by the original Land Rover Defender – or the Series I, II and III, as it was originally called before the Defender nameplate was adopted in 1990. Especially impressive is the fact that it’s been prized and zealously defended despite a rep for breaking down, acting unreliably, gulping fuel, being slow, leaking, rusting, and a host of other equally condemning issues.

But since the first hand-built Series I rolled out of the Solihull factory in the UK’s West Midlands, no other utility vehicle has come close to the unique mix of form and function found in the Defender. And here we’re defining “function” to include the ability to temporarily jimmy a snapped accelerator pedal by stringing a shoelace from the engine bay to the driver’s window to rev the engine. Or popping an egg in the coolant reservoir to stop a leak...