Iconic Land Rover Defender reaches 2,000,000 milestone

24 June, 2015

Poised alongside other historic motors like the Mini Cooper and the Ford Mustang, Land Rover’s immortal Defender will be hitting a unique milestone in 2015 — the 2,000,000th variant of the plucky paddock basher is planned to roll off the production line later this year.

After debuting more than 60 years ago in 1953, the Defender has stood the test of time and continues to be regarded as one of the most potent and indestructible off-roaders in history, and, perhaps more poignantly, one of the most unshakable symbols for British automotive engineering.

With production of the popular platform scheduled to cease by the end of the year, Land Rover have made a great effort to give the Defender a memorable final hurrah — recruiting a comprehensive list of personalities and brand ambassadors to take part in the production of ‘Defender 2,000,000’; including adventurer Bear Grylls, entrepreneur Theo Paphitis, and a number of competitors from the Invictus Games — a sporting event for servicemen and servicewomen returning from war zones with disabilities.

Check out Land Rover’s video tribute to both the Defender, and those taking part in the build, below.

Motorman – advancing the skills

Of course we are all great drivers — definitely above average — until we find out we aren’t. And finding out in a safe way is clearly the major benefit of driver training and why almost all of us who use motor vehicles should experience it.
Driver training applies to all types of cars and commercial vehicles and logically it is even more applicable to high-performance specialist machines — at least for their drivers and passengers — and, of course, if you are not exploiting or understanding the abilities of your car you are not making the most of it.
When I attended the Porsche Experience Driving Centre in Australia more than 20 years ago, one participant told me, “I’ve had my Porsche parked in the garage for several years and have never known how to use it properly — until now.”