2016 Land Rover Defender 90 2.2 XS TDCI - 16 miles from new

The icon. As much a part of British car culture as the Mini, the Jaguar E-Type or the Ford Escort - perhaps even more so. Though officially only known as a Defender from 1990, as a rebadge of the previous 90 and 110 models it was instantly familiar given the evolutionary relationship with the Series Land Rovers that preceded them. To the layman, the different versions have almost become interchangeable, not least because each represents the utilitarian, unpretentious, rugged off-roader that made Land Rover famous.

The Defender itself evolved gradually over its quarter-century on sale, gaining new Ford engines and the odd interior tweak. Perhaps the most significant change, however, was nothing that the Defender did it all - it was in trendy metropolitan elites adopting it as their carriage of choice, taking the Land Rover legend from the country into the city. As such it became popular with both cattle herders and yoga instructors and is now reflected in a replacement new-era Defender that’s as good up to its axles in clag as it is carving through SW1.

The car presented here, a high specification 2012 XS TDCI, is perhaps a real sweet-spot in the evolution of the Land Rover; still with the endearing Land Rover feel and classic shape of old, but by now Defenders gained a cleaner Euro5 engine, a 2.2-litre Ford-sourced Duratorq diesel unit, fitted with a diesel particulate filter. Other updates - ventilated disc brakes, the option of more comfortable seats and upgraded stereo equipment - were more minor, but then the previous 2007 upgrade had already introduced a redesigned gearbox, extra sound insulation and a smarter, slightly more car-like interior.

This particular car is one very special example, a real collector’s choice - with a discerning specification, including Corris Grey bodywork with a Santorini Black roof, four half-leather seats (heated in the front), black Alcantara headlining, a tow bar and side-steps - its real point-of-difference is the 16 miles only it has covered and the ‘better-than-new’ showroom condition it remains in.

Owned and cherished by a dedicated marque enthusiast, it was the last Defender build slot ever issued to the Stratstone Cheltenham Land Rover dealership. It was collected by our vendor in an enclosed transporter from new, tucked away and meticulously stored (its underside having a regular WD40 wipe-off) in in a purpose-made ‘Carcoon’, in dark, heated, and dehumidified conditions. It has been similarly transported every year back to the Stratstone Cheltenham dealership for its annual service - the oil is as clean coming out as it goes in! It has never been driven on-road and it has never been wet.

Is there a better, lower mileage example out there? Probably not. Needless to say, it comes with 2x keys, every piece of paperwork (all in plastic wallets), including all service receipts, MOTs, its original sales receipt from Stratstone, and two pages from the production line. Sold with the cherished registration ‘S22 HUE’ - reference to its 2.2-litre engine and bearing the famous Land Rover suffix letters of HUE – ‘S90 HUE’ was assigned to the 2,000,000th Defender produced, which famously sold at auction for £400,000.

What an opportunity to acquire a collection-ready ‘real’ Land Rover Defender, the likes of which we won’t ever see again, and this is the sort of example of such you’re similarly unlikely to replicate.