2015 Land Rover Defender 90 2.2 TDCi

By the late 1990s, Land Rover had begun to realise that most Range Rovers rarely saw turf, and fuel efficiency was at the forefront of the suburban driver’s mind, so development of a more refined diesel engine for the Range Rover and Discovery began in earnest. Ironically, during this time, the V8 Defender had begun to appeal to the 'lifestyle' end of the market and a number of limited-edition cars were developed and marketed by the company, proving popular for occasional use in a similar way to a classic car. Over the past decade, this has led to a new sub-market for upgraded, used Land Rovers with leather interiors and more powerful engines, and a number of small companies have sprung up to fulfil this need.

J E Motor Works of Coventry are one of those companies skilled in developing bespoke products for Land Rover Defenders but they are not new arrivals in this area having built a 50-year reputation for engineering excellence when it comes to all things Land Rover. Known in the past for building unburstable competition engines for Paris-Dakar entrants, their business these days is equally well known for an extensive range of styling and performance enhancements for LR’s ubiquitous Defender.

During 2016, our vendor was keen to purchase a new Defender 90, but it appears that there was a two-year waiting list at the time. One dealer that he spoke to suggested that he had a chat with JE Motor Works as they had been buying a few for stock. Happily they had exactly what he wanted in Santorini Black and, after what we imagine must have been a good afternoon going through their upgrades option list, a deal was struck and JEM commenced work on our vendor's new car. It was ready for collection on 22nd December 2016, just in time for Christmas, and the J E Motorworks invoices in the history file indicate that well in excess of £20,000 was invested with JEM, in addition to the cost of the car.

A new Defender in Santorini Black was pretty cool anyway so external changes were limited to replacing the original alloys with 18'' cream-painted JE D-type alloys wrapped in Hankook tyres whilst also adding bespoke JEM side steps.

The factory interior was upgraded with bespoke British craftsmanship by Ruskin Design Interiors which included heated black leather front seats enhanced by bright red stitching and Range Rover Sport headrests, extra leg-room rails, a ‘Startech’ leather steering wheel, the dash including speedo, passenger cover, grab handle and under the speedo panel re-trimmed in leather and Alcantara, and all embossed with the Ruskin logo. A black Alcantara headlining and 100% wool luxury carpets finish off a very impressive interior. From the invoice in the car’s history file, it appears this work came to just short of £4,500.

The aesthetics weren’t the only thing JE Engineering worked their magic on, with a power increase to the factory 2.2-litre diesel inline-four, now producing around 195bhp (Puma Tune+ £1,069) coupled to an automatic 6-speed gear box. (£8,230). Whilst the 'JE SuperSport Suspension Pack' balanced softer springs with stiffer anti-roll bars transforming daily usability and offering an excellent ride and handling without making the rear too stiff. Underneath, the car was undersealed with professionally applied Waxoyl treatment ensuring long-term corrosion protection.

The original factory specification which remains includes a heated rear windscreen, electric windows, rear privacy glass, rear step, rear Land Rover mud flaps, air conditioning and an after-market Alpine CD-player added with Bluetooth connectivity and a USB port.

The history file incudes original handbooks, service history records, invoices for the upgrades from J.E. Engineering, the V5C and an advisory-free MOT valid until 21st December 2023. A rare opportunity to purchase a highly topical, good looking, low-mileage Defender, professionally upgraded by acknowledged marque experts.