Photo: Niels van Roij Design/Heritage Customs
It’s only when you’re rocking rusted but fully-custom parts that you know you’re special (and so is your car). Heritage Customs, which is part of the Niels van Roij Design firm, is betting on it.
Patina on a car adds personality, a touch of ruggedness and mystery, and a very hefty dose of extra. Patina can now be had as a customizing feature from Heritage Customs as part of the Valiance and Vintage lines of products. The Valiance is based on the new Defender, while the Vintage uses the classic Defender as a platform.
Heritage Customs boasts of being in the "carchitecture" business, and so far, it delivered outstanding custom parts for a wide range of vehicles. Their latest project, a Land Rover Defender, is just as impressive visually, even though it makes for a rather tricky soundbite: custom rust for your SUV.
In reality, Heritage Customs has developed a new metal-binding technology that allows it to offer a series of custom parts. A small amount of metal is sprayed onto a surface: the metal can be anything from aluminum to bronze or even the more expensive variants of titanium and gold. These parts can then be polished, sanded, brushed or oxidized—intentionally rusted, as most people would say.
Niels van Roij says that each part keeps its qualities for up to 20 years. The rusted exterior parts can be made to match the interior: Heritage Customs can do the same for interior jewelry if the customer desires it. In the case of the Defender pictured in the gallery, a 2021 Land Rover Defender and the first project of the kind, the owner asked for carbon fiber on the door panels and dash and matching metallic gray on the steering wheel and the back of the dashboard.
The full rusty conversion costs €12,475 ($15,100), but there’s also the more affordable variant that includes two rusted hood diamond plates and two side vents, priced at €1,395 ($1,690).
Heritage Customs boasts of being in the "carchitecture" business, and so far, it delivered outstanding custom parts for a wide range of vehicles. Their latest project, a Land Rover Defender, is just as impressive visually, even though it makes for a rather tricky soundbite: custom rust for your SUV.
In reality, Heritage Customs has developed a new metal-binding technology that allows it to offer a series of custom parts. A small amount of metal is sprayed onto a surface: the metal can be anything from aluminum to bronze or even the more expensive variants of titanium and gold. These parts can then be polished, sanded, brushed or oxidized—intentionally rusted, as most people would say.
Niels van Roij says that each part keeps its qualities for up to 20 years. The rusted exterior parts can be made to match the interior: Heritage Customs can do the same for interior jewelry if the customer desires it. In the case of the Defender pictured in the gallery, a 2021 Land Rover Defender and the first project of the kind, the owner asked for carbon fiber on the door panels and dash and matching metallic gray on the steering wheel and the back of the dashboard.
The full rusty conversion costs €12,475 ($15,100), but there’s also the more affordable variant that includes two rusted hood diamond plates and two side vents, priced at €1,395 ($1,690).
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