It’s in the Celebration Line of Land Rover’s factory in Solihull that you realise the impact the Defender has had on people’s lives – and indeed the world. Hundreds of messages and photos are pinned to the wall, detailing epic adventures across tough continents, hard toil despite impossible restoration odds, and sticky off-roading ventures where the machine thrives, the grin of the driver visible through the mud-splattered windscreen. For these people, the Defender is an extended part of the family; cared for with love when injured, there for the memorable times and to be sorely missed when gone. Nothing with four wheels comes close to the romantic nostalgia evoked by these iconic vehicles.
Opposite these testimonials a glass cabinet shows the extent to which the Defender has been adapted to become a worldwide workhorse – ambulances, fire engines, the military go-to. It has long been the most dependable machine on the globe. In this room you appreciate the momentous scale of what will come to pass on January 29: the end of an era, the end of Land Rover Defender production. On this day, in the frenetic hub in the Midlands, where today a Defender rolls off the production line every four minutes, the factory will shut down (until rebooted to accommodate the next wave of Land Rover’s iterations).
The pain of this decision was felt far and wide. In a world fast falling apart due to global warming, the Defender simply didn’t make the cut. And while the initial rumblings of this termination seem some time ago, D-Day has swung around agonisingly fast. In January 2015, in repost to the public backlash, Land Rover offered enthusiasts the opportunity to go behind closed doors and see the manufacturing process for themselves; to witness the nuts and bolts of a car that has played such an important role in so many lives. Over 10,000 people jumped at the chance – some even coming from as far away as New Zealand.
The remarkable prowess of the Defender cannot be ignored. Since the first one was made in 1948 over 2 million have joined the fleet, and – astonishingly – 66% of these are still in working order today. There’s durability and then there’s Defender. And of that 66%, I’d bet my life that they give immense pleasure to 100% of their owners.
With the 29th looming I ventured to Solihull to wave off the legend and see the process for myself – I personally have extremely fond memories of a four-month, 25,000-mile excursion through Southern and Eastern Africa, when four friends and I enjoyed the trip of a lifetime and become besotted with our TDCi.
Entering the barriers to the vast JLR production centre, it feels as if I’m being granted entry to a magic circle, a top-secret base holding the keys to automotive history. As expected the factory runs with clockwork precision, each member of the team knowing their exact role, never taking more than four minutes at each stage. In fact, they make compiling a Defender look stress-free, like a puzzle with square pieces – but then simplicity has always been one of its many beautiful traits. To see a Defender take shape over a series of stages, going from a mere skeleton to a road-worthy icon is truly special.
It will surely be an incredibly surreal feeling for the team to fit their last door, tighten their last nut, or punch their last hole. The factory will become progressively quieter through the day, until eventually the tailback of models awaiting the quality control checks will end. There will be a final Defender. And some lucky family will have a vehicle in which to make a lifetime of memories.
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