Dutch coachbuilder turns the Land Rover Defender into a crew-cab pickup
Land Rover offers three versions of the new Defender called 90, 110, and 130, respectively, but it doesn’t sound like the range will gain a pickup anytime soon. Dutch coachbuilder Heritage Customs has stepped in to fill the gap by giving the longest modern Defender a cargo box.
Chopping up any vehicle into a pickup is easier said than done, but this isn’t the first time Heritage Customs has made major modifications to the current-generation Defender. This is the same coachbuilder that builds a convertible Defender 90 with a power-folding soft top. Based on the Defender 130, the pickup features a usable bed, a sport bar, and a side-hinged tailgate with big “HERITAGE” lettering stamped into it.
Buyers can customize just about every aspect of their truck including the paint, the upholstery, and the interior trim. Several exterior decal packs are available, while new-look wheel designs ranging from 20 to 22 inches in diameter add a finishing touch to the look. If that’s not custom enough, Heritage Customs offers a thick catalog of off-roading accessories such as LED light bars, roof racks, and side steps.
It doesn’t sound like Heritage Customs makes mechanical modifications during the transformation. Each build starts with the X Dynamic SE trim level, which is available with two engines in Europe. The standard offering is a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged diesel straight-six rated at 350 horsepower, while a 5.0-liter V8 supercharged to 425 horsepower is available at an extra cost. All-wheel-drive of course comes standard.
Pricing starts at €155,000 excluding tax, which represents approximately $166,000 at the current conversion rate — you might think twice about loading it up with a Home Depot trip’s worth of landscaping rocks. Heritage Customs notes that buyers need to send a €15,000 deposit (about $16,000) to secure a build slot and that production takes approximately three months because the work is entirely done by hand.
The idea of making a Defender pickup isn’t unprecedented; the original Defender was offered as a truck for decades. Rumors claimed the body style would make a comeback in the new Defender line-up, but it’s been a while since we’ve heard about a factory-built pickup.
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