Photo: East Coast Defender
A Land Rover Defender for sale in the United States is a good enough cause for discussion. But "Project Viper" is not your average retro 4x4, as it's re-engineered from the ground up and packs an all-mighty LS3 punch.
With a name like "Project Viper," you'd expect to find a V10 under the hood. However, the LS3 is the darling of engine swaps, and this is just one of several configurations that are available from a Florida-based shop called East Coast Defender. There's also the Beast, Willow, Blizzard, and Pedigree.
“We wanted to take this iconic British off-roader and make it new and modern underneath. Land Rover Defender heritage is what our clients want, but they also want it to perform, on the road and off. We bring it to life, we build on Defender’s charisma,” says Elliot Humble of East Coast Defender.
Elliot and his brother Tom moved from a small town in England to Orlando and soon after started buying Land Rovers that were in decent condition to ship back to Europe and the UK, where the weather rusts them away much quicker.
They soon began getting calls back in the middle of the night when mechanical problems arose. So the idea came up to convert some and fix them mechanically. The 6.2-liter LS3 V8 rated at 430 horsepower channels its anger through a six-speed automatic to the 20-inch wheels wrapped with Nitto Mud Grappler tires.
The heavy-duty axles each have electronically-controlled locking differentials sourced from KAM. The off-road treatment also includes 2.0-inch lifted Old Man Emu coil springs, King Off-Road Racing shocks, and a Wilwood brake package. There are options for off-road projectors, snorkels, different wheels and the interior. Speaking of which, this particular project car seems to tick a couple of luxury boxes as well.
With a price nearing that of your average supercar, this project could be what every off-road enthusiast dreams about but knows he can't afford. But what can you do, when Land Rover ceased production of the Defender in early 2016.
“We wanted to take this iconic British off-roader and make it new and modern underneath. Land Rover Defender heritage is what our clients want, but they also want it to perform, on the road and off. We bring it to life, we build on Defender’s charisma,” says Elliot Humble of East Coast Defender.
Elliot and his brother Tom moved from a small town in England to Orlando and soon after started buying Land Rovers that were in decent condition to ship back to Europe and the UK, where the weather rusts them away much quicker.
They soon began getting calls back in the middle of the night when mechanical problems arose. So the idea came up to convert some and fix them mechanically. The 6.2-liter LS3 V8 rated at 430 horsepower channels its anger through a six-speed automatic to the 20-inch wheels wrapped with Nitto Mud Grappler tires.
The heavy-duty axles each have electronically-controlled locking differentials sourced from KAM. The off-road treatment also includes 2.0-inch lifted Old Man Emu coil springs, King Off-Road Racing shocks, and a Wilwood brake package. There are options for off-road projectors, snorkels, different wheels and the interior. Speaking of which, this particular project car seems to tick a couple of luxury boxes as well.
With a price nearing that of your average supercar, this project could be what every off-road enthusiast dreams about but knows he can't afford. But what can you do, when Land Rover ceased production of the Defender in early 2016.
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