2015 Land Rover Defender 110 Utility 2.2-Litre #001 GYRO Edition by Wallis Defenders

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Wallis & Son have had a long-term love affair with the Land Rover Brand, and particularly the Defender. Having bespoke-built a couple of one-off Land Rovers some 15 or so years ago, it slowly turned into a passion and during the 2020 COVID pandemic, Wallis & Son ‘pressed the reset button’ on a couple of its departments creating Wallis Defenders Sales Department and indeed Built by Wallis Defenders Workshop - successfully building and selling high-quality Defenders under the Wallis name.

The evolution continued into their new prestige, full-custom-build division GYRO, where only the highest level of build is accepted. The brand name GYRO is inspired by Wing Commander Ken Wallis DSO MBE, the decorated engineer/aviator whose creation ‘Little Nellie’ was the famous Autogyro flown in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice. The Wallis’ family pedigree in engineering has much influenced the high quality, integrity and finish to the Defenders it now produces. GYRO Defenders are lovingly hand-built at their Cambridge workshop, and all build projects strive to use British-made and supplied parts throughout the conversion process. Hand-picked Defenders from the Wallis stock are transformed into bespoke one-off machines (with all-known Defender weak spots being covered-off) to bring the vehicle, as much as possible, back to being a new (and improved) machine. Only premium parts are used in these builds and each example is always signed off by Mr Wallis himself when finished.

The vehicle presented here is a 2015 Land Rover Defender 110 Utility 2.2-litre #001 GYRO Edition by Wallis Defenders – also known as ‘Gun Dog’. It started life as a 110 Utility model which Land Rover donated as a new vehicle to the Blind Dogs Association. ‘Built by Wallis Defenders’ wanted to keep the utility-usability factor and went for a four-seat configuration with the boot area left free for cargo. Henceforth, came the nickname ‘Gun Dog’ as it seemed the perfect shooting party vehicle.

With a one owner 17,000 miles 2015 Defender 110 Utility as a donor, work commenced to convert this basic model into a full Built by Wallis Defenders GYRO. It was to be suitably upgraded with air conditioning, front and rear electric windows, central-locking, heated front & rear seats, an uprated braking system and air suspension.

This hugely involved process (photos available) included a strip-out of the interior, a full chassis clean down and protection treatment application, full bodywork preparation (for necessary paintwork) and a full mechanical run through. New exterior trims, stainless package, Optimill hinge/washer kits, window blocks, top wing vents and intake side vent kits were also added. Next, came an exterior WIPAC smoked-light package, premium projector headlamps, an ORE spare wheel brace/swing-away and cranked LED front bumper, ‘fire & ice’ style side steps, a rear NAS step, an On-Air suspension setup, 18" Lucari alloy wheels (with BF Goodrich tyres), an LOF Fast Road brake setup, a Stage Two Performance Package (including a larger intercooler) and a Demand Custom DPF back exhaust.

A double panoramic glass roof was expertly cut into place, with electric window and central locking systems installed, whist a premium stereo/speaker and Double Din Pioneer head-unit were utilised, next to Optimill intake and heater controls. Interior insulation, soundproofing and upgraded carpet were applied to the whole interior, including front bulkhead, with an Alcantara headlining installed to maintain the quality ambiance. Four burgundy leather Lucari Sports seats were fitted, along with two cubby boxes, one with integrated subwoofer; premium leather door cards and grab handles were also adopted (full details available on request). Also benefiting from comprehensive servicing (including differential and C-service), plus the replacement of consumables, this Defender drives as well as it presents.

What with 2015 being the Classic Defender's final year of production, the last of the line models are now quite rightly in-demand, with the modern JLR incarnation somewhat lacking the 'character' that owners often mention. What an opportunity this is then to acquire a 'real' Land Rover Defender, the likes of which we may never see again, with both a plethora of mechanical and cosmetic upgrades, a full recommissioning, mileage, condition and a backstory that would be difficult to replicate.