Photo: Garage Kept Motors
The original Land Rover Defender had a very short life on the American market. Introduced in 1983 in Europe as the 110, the four-wheel-drive SUV landed on U.S. soil a decade later. It only lasted for four years and got kicked out of the local British offering because it failed to meet safety requirements.
The entire line of Defenders got discontinued in 2016, including in Europe, but the nameplate made a triumphant return in 2019. The new generation is now offered in America as well, in both 90 and 110 guises, complete with the hardtop derivatives.
The years of absence from the American market have led fans to come up with innovative solutions to get their hands on the British off-roader, some of them not entirely legal. There is presently no need to go to such lengths, as most Defenders of the olden days are subject to the 25-year exemption from DOT Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. That means there are now plenty of old Defenders to go around in the U.S., provided you know where to look.
The one we have here, a 1987 Defender 110 in pickup guise, did not need serious efforts to be imported, as it was made in 1987, meaning it meets the 25-year import rule by a comfortable margin.
The pickup is fresh on the lot of cars being sold online by a dealer called Garage Kept Motors. Because it is so fresh, not many details about it are provided, other than it was imported to Florida, it packs an inline-6 diesel engine of Nissan make and retains the right-hand-drive configuration it was assembled in all those years ago.
We’ll get back to this pickup once more details about it are available, provided, of course, no one snatches it in the meantime. Despite the lack of details, the Defender has a price sticker, and it reads $44,900.
The years of absence from the American market have led fans to come up with innovative solutions to get their hands on the British off-roader, some of them not entirely legal. There is presently no need to go to such lengths, as most Defenders of the olden days are subject to the 25-year exemption from DOT Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. That means there are now plenty of old Defenders to go around in the U.S., provided you know where to look.
The one we have here, a 1987 Defender 110 in pickup guise, did not need serious efforts to be imported, as it was made in 1987, meaning it meets the 25-year import rule by a comfortable margin.
The pickup is fresh on the lot of cars being sold online by a dealer called Garage Kept Motors. Because it is so fresh, not many details about it are provided, other than it was imported to Florida, it packs an inline-6 diesel engine of Nissan make and retains the right-hand-drive configuration it was assembled in all those years ago.
We’ll get back to this pickup once more details about it are available, provided, of course, no one snatches it in the meantime. Despite the lack of details, the Defender has a price sticker, and it reads $44,900.
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