Land Rover will upgrade your old Defender

Missed out on one of the 150, £150,000 V8-engined Defenders Land Rover built last year to celebrate its 70th anniversary?

Well we have some good news – the company has just released upgrade kits that ought to make older Defenders look and handle a bit like said V8s. Though sadly, none of these kits include an actual V8-engine. Boo.

A suspension upgrade kit can be fitted to Defender 90 or 110s built from 2007. For less than £2,500 in parts, it gives revised coil spring rates, and new dampers, anti-roll bars, links and bushes. The ‘Defender Handling Upgrade Kit’, meanwhile, costs over £10,000 and adds Works V8 spec brake discs, pads and calipers and 18in alloys alongside “enhanced” suspension.

If you have a 2.2-litre diesel Defender from 2012 onwards, however, you can buy the ‘Classic Works Upgrade Kit’. Only available direct from Land Rover Classic, the £17k pack includes all available wheel, brake and suspension upgrades alongside new tyres, an engine upgrade that adds 40bhp and some badges on the front wings.

While we’re sure the kit will make your Defender better, £17k will comfortably buy you an actual, whole Defender in decent condition… Just saying.