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Bugatti La Voiture Noire Designer Pens Striking Defender Beach Cruiser for Arkonik

Nothing can be left to chance when you have a reputation – or a certain image – to uphold, and that includes a drive to the beach. Up on millionaire mountain, a regular beach buggy will simply not do.
The Land Rover Defender Beach Cruiser is an Arkonik custom build by Etienne Salome 14 photos
Photo: Arkonik
The Land Rover Defender Beach Cruiser is an Arkonik custom build by Etienne SalomeThe Land Rover Defender Beach Cruiser is an Arkonik custom build by Etienne SalomeThe Land Rover Defender Beach Cruiser is an Arkonik custom build by Etienne SalomeThe Land Rover Defender Beach Cruiser is an Arkonik custom build by Etienne SalomeThe Land Rover Defender Beach Cruiser is an Arkonik custom build by Etienne SalomeThe Land Rover Defender Beach Cruiser is an Arkonik custom build by Etienne SalomeThe Land Rover Defender Beach Cruiser is an Arkonik custom build by Etienne SalomeThe Land Rover Defender Beach Cruiser is an Arkonik custom build by Etienne SalomeThe Land Rover Defender Beach Cruiser is an Arkonik custom build by Etienne SalomeThe Land Rover Defender Beach Cruiser is an Arkonik custom build by Etienne SalomeThe Land Rover Defender Beach Cruiser is an Arkonik custom build by Etienne SalomeThe Land Rover Defender Beach Cruiser is an Arkonik custom build by Etienne SalomeThe Land Rover Defender Beach Cruiser is an Arkonik custom build by Etienne Salome
UK-based custom shop Arkonik, a well-established name in the market of custom Land Rover Defenders, has just the thing. With the boom in vintage rides, it is now offering a 1989 Land Rover Defender that’s been redone as the most stylish and equally striking beach cruiser. If that’s not enough to impress, Bugatti designer Etienne Salome signs the creation.

Etienne Salome is the head of interior design at Bugatti and, as it so happens, the man behind the mysterious one-off La Voiture Noire, which pays homage to the iconic Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic. But you will find none of the design language of LVN in the Defender Beach Cruiser that he designed: if anything, it’s the exact opposite, with a very spartan, aggressive look that works wonders in terms of hiding the fact that this is, still, a luxury ride.

Arkonik hardly needs an introduction, but we’ll do it either way. In a few words, if you want a special Defender that’s been tailored to your exact needs and taste, and have very deep pockets, they’re the go-to guys. They work on Defenders only, which they track down themselves, restore and customize, while striving to keep as many parts original. On average, Arkonik delivers a little over 60 Defenders a year: some of them are stock units and others are done on commission, at the client’s special request.

Given their expertise and Salome’s flare for the extraordinary, the result of their collaboration could only be outstanding. The Defender Beach Cruiser is stripped to the bare basics, striking in its apparent nakedness, made starker by the Pennine Grey custom paintjob. The Rover 3.9-liter V8 engine is the original, but restored, paired to a 5-speed manual transmission.

Details like the disappearing door handles and the custom grille do give the old-timer Defender a more modern look, as does the all-black plush interior. Offering seating for three, the Defender Beach Cruiser rides on bespoke Celluar Dynamic suspension and 16-inch steel wheels.

All this talk about a Bugatti designer putting his name to this very special Beach Cruiser and the limited units that bear the Arkonik logo must have driven the message home: these are not cheap cars. The Defender Beach Cruiser, for example, will be made in only five units worldwide, and each is priced at $240,000, not including shipping. If you can afford a quarter of a million bucks on a vintage and pretty badass beach buggy, you can afford not to complain that shipping is extra.

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 Download: Arkonik Land Rover Defender Beach Cruiser (PDF)

About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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