This one-off restomod Defender was inspired by the Chinook

Yes it’s another restomodded Land Rover Defender, but as you might have guessed from the images above this one is inspired by the iconic double-rotor Chinook helicopter, which somehow celebrated its 40th year of active service in 2021. How time flies. Geddit?

Slightly tenuous link between the two then, but we’ll let them off as the ‘Q40 Defender by TECNIQ’ will be auctioned off at the Goodwood Revival in September to raise money for the Royal Air Forces Association.

A huge amount of engineering work has gone into the restomodding too. Underneath, the Q40 Defender gets the 2.3-litre turbocharged Ford EcoBoost engine from the four-pot Mustang, with a remapped ECU meaning 307bhp and 319lb ft of torque. There’s also an upgraded six-speed auto gearbox, plus all-new suspension, stiffer anti-roll bars and an enhanced braking system all sorted by Brit firm TECNIQ’s Classic Racing department.

TECNIQ apparently worked with 18(B) Squadron at RAF Odiham – the home of the Chinook – and the Defender’s exterior has been painted in gloss and matte dark green to match the camo of the helicopter. There’s plenty of carbon fibre on the Land Rover too, although we’re not sure that’s reflected on the Chinook…

Inside looks a little fancier than the heli too, with four lightweight carbon fibre racing seats upholstered in hand-stitched Bridge of Wier leather. And yes, they are sheepskin inserts and that is a drinks fridge in the back. There’s a new steering wheel too, as well as a quilted roof liner and a redesigned centre console. Oh, and that is real-life Chinook webbing used to separate the boot from the rear seats.

What do we think of the Q40 folks?