A historic day for Land Rover: the last Defender left the factory halls in Solihull, UK, on Friday, January 29, 2016. This marks the end of the era of one of the world's most legendary automobiles after 68 years. To celebrate the day, the off-road vehicle specialist invited over 700 former and current employees to a ceremony at its main plant near Birmingham - including a parade of numerous important models from Series I, II and III as well as the Defender. Land Rover also announced the launch of the "Defender Journeys" online platform and a new "Heritage" restoration program for classic models, which will be based in Solihull.
Coming full circle...
The Defender and its predecessors have shaped and enriched the automotive world for almost seven decades. Over two million examples of the robust 4x4 series have rolled off the production lines since 1948 - without interruption, the Solihull plant has been the center of the Land Rover and Defender world for 68 years.
The classic came full circle on January 29, 2016. The more than 700 former and current employees who were invited to the ceremony have assembled countless classic vehicles. At the end, they were able to experience some particularly important models once again in motion or even drive them themselves, including the first ever pre-production model, the legendary "Huey", and the last vehicle now being produced, a Defender 90 Soft Top in Heritage trim.
Land Rover used the historic day to launch its new "Heritage" restoration program. At the site of the previous Defender production facility in Solihull, a team of experts is working on the restoration of classic models of the Defender and its ancestors, which are being brought back to England from all over the world. The first expertly restored vehicles will go on sale next July.
The parade to mark the Defender celebration in Solihull brought together more than 25 vehicles from its long and glorious history. The parade, which included the last Defender just produced, circled the entire factory. In addition to current employees, former employees from the 68-year production period also attended the unique event. The last Defender had a part on board that was already part of its ancestor's equipment in 1948: a soft top clamp for the soft top. After the Defender's farewell, the last one-off rolls into the Jaguar Land Rover Collection exhibition.
A success story from Solihull
Over two million units of the Defender and its ancestors have rolled off the Land Rover production lines in Solihull, UK, since 1948. It began with a simple outline drawing in the sand - and developed into one of the most legendary 4x4 models in the world. A model with a reputation as probably the most versatile car on the planet, taking its owner where other models cannot go. At the end of 2015, the "Defender 2,000,000" model caused a sensation: The one-off to mark the two millionth anniversary was auctioned in London for a whopping £400,000 (around €549,000) - worlds away from the £450 that the buyer of the first Land Rover had to pay at the Amsterdam Motor Show in 1948.
1948 was the year in which scheduled production of the Series I began - under difficult conditions. Although post-war Great Britain had enormous production capacities, it suffered from a shortage of steel. Spencer and Maurice Wilks found a solution to this problem. The two brothers at the head of the Rover Company had already returned the company to profitability in the 1930s. Now they designed the Land Rover: a car, largely made of aluminum, which was primarily intended for the British farmer. The Wilks brothers had no idea what a global success they had created.
Series II and III
Ongoing improvements to the original model followed before Series II appeared in 1958. In addition to a new design, the second generation also featured a diesel engine for the first time, which continued to serve faithfully until the mid-1980s. In 1966, the mark of half a million vehicles produced was passed, and in 1971, annual production reached an all-time high of 56,000 units. Series III consolidated the good sales figures in the 1970s.
The year 1990 then saw a turning point, as the Land Rover was given the name Defender, having previously been classified solely by wheelbase and serial number. Up to this point, the model range had only consisted of Land Rover and Range Rover - the arrival of the Discovery made further differentiation necessary, but did nothing to diminish its popularity.
For many owners, "their" Defender became a kind of family member. And over the decades, production at the Solihull plant also developed into a real family affair.
Part of the Defender family
One example of this is Tim Bickerton. The 55-year-old started out as an apprentice at Land Rover and has now been with the company for 40 years. He follows in the footsteps of his grandfather Charlie and his father Peter, who spent 35 and 30 years respectively on the Land Rover production line, most recently as foreman. But even with Tim, the Bickerton family history with the Defender is not over: daughter Jade (25) worked in logistics and materials for the four-wheel drive legend before recently taking on a new role at Jaguar Land Rover. And finally, last year, 23-year-old son Scott became the fifth member of the family to continue the Bickerton Defender tradition.
Tim Bickerton, who worked in the production of Defender special models, explains: "I am very proud of our family tradition - our work over generations for this exceptional model. The Defender has become part of our family. For many people, the Defender is synonymous with Land Rover - it's often seen as a workhorse, but for us it's a true thoroughbred."
Another Defender veteran is David Smith: 56 years old and in the service of the Defender for 37 years before moving to the production line of the Jaguar XE. The former butcher became part of the Land Rover workforce at the age of 20 because he was able to double his weekly salary to 80 pounds - and was offered a job with excellent prospects for the future. David Smith: "The Defender is a special car that was largely assembled by hand. You had to get a feel for it: We call it 'the knack'. It takes months to learn the knack. Behind it is the ability to work at high speed and to realize an exhausting combination of different skills. When you work on the Defender, you become part of a big family."
The new "Heritage" restoration program
The Defender name will not disappear from the factory halls in Solihull in the future. The new "Heritage" program for the restoration of classic Land Rover and Defender models alone ensures this. The project is led by twelve experts, ten of whom have been working on the Defender production line up to now. They are now involved in the professional restoration of classic models, primarily Series I to III. Together, the team has 172 years of experience with Land Rover and the Defender. Tony Martin, one of the experts, has spent his entire working life in Solihull, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He may soon be able to expertly restore vehicles that his grandfather once assembled.
"Defender Journeys" - the digital scrapbook
Land Rover is also launching "Defender Journeys". The online platform allows the legendary model to live on in the digital world. The online scrapbook allows fans and drivers to upload memories of unforgettable moments or unique experiences with the Defender or its predecessors and share them with other users. The aim is to use crowdsourcing to collect the most beautiful journeys and immortalize them in an online map - so that the great Defender moments are preserved for posterity.
The end of Defender production at the Solihull plant also means the end for the "Defender Celebration Line" - at least in physical form. The faithful replica of the production line from 1948 has attracted more than 10,000 visitors over the past twelve months. In the exhibition, Land Rover's many exhibits spanned from the early years to the present day.
However, classic Defender production is also preserved in digital form. Fans can now take a virtual 360-degree factory tour of the classic vehicle's production on the website
