Photo: Bring a Trailer
Even if it had quite a rough time on American soil, the Land Rover Defender is a very appreciated four-wheeler over here. The majority of the old and real, British-made ones are now subject to the 25-year exemption from the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Still, there’s also the new generation to take into account when considering a buy.
Alternatively, you could go for a mix between old and new Defenders, the so-called Osprey Custom Defender 90 born in North Carolina of all places. What are these? Old Defenders, of course, rocking all the modern hardware they can have, along with a replacement engine under the hood.
As you might imagine, these conversions do not come cheap, and proof of that is the Vortec-powered example we have here; with just 300 miles (482 km) on the clock, it went for $118,000 during an auction on Bring a Trailer earlier this week.
Built to match the styling of a 1997 Defender, the SUV is officially titled 2020 Osprey OC90 Defender 90 NAS replica because work on the vehicle was completed just last year (as most of you already know, NAS stands for North American Spec).
It was put together using a “combination of new factory Land Rover parts, rebuilt Land Rover parts, and aftermarket components,” ranging from the aluminum body panels to the LED lights and 16-inch wheels shod in BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A tires.
Inside, one gets all the modern amenities to be expected from a modern build, including LED interior lighting, an Alpine touchscreen stereo with navigation, Bluetooth connectivity, a backup camera, and JL Audio speakers.
But perhaps the most impressive change is the lowering in the engine bay of a 5.3-liter Vortec V8 of General Motors make, rated in this application at 325 horsepower and 330 lb-ft (447 Nm) of torque. The engine is run through a six-speed automatic transmission and a dual-range transfer case.
As you might imagine, these conversions do not come cheap, and proof of that is the Vortec-powered example we have here; with just 300 miles (482 km) on the clock, it went for $118,000 during an auction on Bring a Trailer earlier this week.
Built to match the styling of a 1997 Defender, the SUV is officially titled 2020 Osprey OC90 Defender 90 NAS replica because work on the vehicle was completed just last year (as most of you already know, NAS stands for North American Spec).
It was put together using a “combination of new factory Land Rover parts, rebuilt Land Rover parts, and aftermarket components,” ranging from the aluminum body panels to the LED lights and 16-inch wheels shod in BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A tires.
Inside, one gets all the modern amenities to be expected from a modern build, including LED interior lighting, an Alpine touchscreen stereo with navigation, Bluetooth connectivity, a backup camera, and JL Audio speakers.
But perhaps the most impressive change is the lowering in the engine bay of a 5.3-liter Vortec V8 of General Motors make, rated in this application at 325 horsepower and 330 lb-ft (447 Nm) of torque. The engine is run through a six-speed automatic transmission and a dual-range transfer case.
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