1984 | Land Rover Defender Tophat

A Tophat speaks louder than words. 

The Land Rover Defender. A car that was synonymous with snorkels, bull bars, winches, trenches and the savannah in Africa. Nowadays, the average Dutch Defender has it a little easier. The steepest slope is the bridge of the Prinsengracht and going offroad through the sandy path to horse riding lessons is quite something, Boudewijn! But hey, the Defender is and remains, apart from practical considerations, an icon!

The four- or five-cylinder diesel engine is ideal for crawling through mud and delivering a lot of power at low revs. The downside is that reaching 100 km/h is not as smooth as the average beard growth and they had the handling of a teenager walking out of the pub for the first time after the Corona crisis. Tophat the Defender icon has made the 'AMGs and SVRs' laugh with a toothache. How? An LS3, hot-cammed, mated to a Tremec 6-speed gearbox, breathing through a custom-made side pipe system with flap, of course. Needed? Nope. Fun? Gadverdamme what good! 

And nowadays you can cross your fingers with the Designo of the G, but nothing can match the Top(hat). Carbon widebody fenders, Detroit custom wheels (1 off), fully custom chassis, aeroplane fuses on the dashboard with Singer aero clocks and a fully handmade aluminium dashboard. The shelves in the back? Made from over 100 years old wood from a wine chateau, of course. This makes the straight-piped V8 a bit posh towards the in-laws! By the way, a Christmas tree fits perfectly in the back, so it can go under daddy's tree. See you soon?