The new Land Rover Defender is far superior to the old Defender and the even older Series Land Rovers in most ways. One point that some may argue (and indeed have argued) in favor of the heritage models is the look of the thing, not just the boxy style but the fact that they used to be available in both open-top pickup and soft-top styles. At the moment, the new Defender is strictly a closed-cabin affair.
Heritage Customs wasn’t satisfied with this state of affairs, so they’re stepping in and offering a limited-run of convertible Defenders with retractable soft tops. When we say limited, we mean it. The company is taking orders for only five of these coachbuilt models in 2022, with an estimated price of $160,000 each. For reference, the Defender 90, the two-door base vehicle they’re working from, starts at $52,300 when bought direct from Land Rover.
For that tripled price, you’re getting more than a Defender with the top chopped off, mind you. Heritage Customs has for some time been offering a less invasive take on the SUV that they call the Valiance, which consists of a variety of customizations: unique 22-inch wheels, new interior upholstery, custom paint job, various metal finishes inside and out (including, but not limited to, rust), etc. This new coachbuilt offering, then, is officially called the Valiance Convertible, and it’s available in three colors: Côte d’Azur (blue), Solihull Sand (green) and Kokkini Paralia (red).
“The Valiance is the Heritage Customs concept for a more heroic version of the Defender,” Jan-Pieter Kroezen, co-owner of Heritage Customs, said in a press release. One man’s heroism is another man’s hedonism, as they say.
The other co-owner of Heritage Customs is the designer Niels van Roij, who you may know as the mastermind behind the semi-viral Tesla Model S Shooting Brake. In other words, this man isn’t afraid of chopping up some seriously expensive vehicles. Whether the final products he dreams up are better than the originals is for you to decide.
If you’re on team Defender Convertible, you can get in touch with Heritage Customs here. Just be aware that they operate out of the Netherlands, so that six-figure price will be bumped up by all the fees you’ll need to pay to ship it stateside.
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