Land Rover Defender by Paul Smith

In Land Rover, Short Cuts by Jonathan Humphrey

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One-off tailor made creation by longstanding Defender Fan, Sir Paul Smith

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The famous British designer, Sir Paul Smith worked with Land Rover to create the bespoke vehicle.

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A big fan of the Defender, Sir Paul Smith has owned several over the years.

 

Paul Smith worked closely with the Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) design team at Land Rover. The team specialises in individual customer commissions and personalisation .

The unique Land Rover Defender by Paul Smith was created and built entirely to the famous designers own specs. With guidance from Land Rover’s Design Director and Chief Creative Officer, Gerry McGovern, he was able to realise his uniquely personal version of a global automotive icon. 

“The Defender is a British icon, which is something I’m exceptionally proud of,” says Paul. “I keep a Defender at my home in Italy which is in the middle of the countryside, so it’s the perfect vehicle to cope with the rugged terrain.”Sir Paul Smith

Just don’t crash it, the vehicle features 27 different colours on the panels, all selected by Sir Paul Smith with colour inspiration taken from the British countryside in combination with colours historically used on Armed Forces vehicles, he says, “I wanted deep rich colours, but at the same time, I wanted them to work together yet be surprising.” In order to achieve the look he wanted, Paul gave the SVO team a set of Pantone colour references, which were then mixed specially for this vehicle.

Further adding to the vehicle’s bespoke design, Paul worked with Land Rover to ensure that the interior stayed true to his vision. “This is a complete one-off; I wanted to give this Defender a feeling of luxury, so I used a mix of leather and fabric for the seats. I actually used the fabric that I design for Maharam, the American upholstery company. The vehicle features lots of special Paul Smith touches.

“Inside, black leather contrasts against blue stitching and there are lots of little hidden details throughout. For example, there is an image of a set of keys printed inside the glove compartment. Then there is a hand-painted bee on the roof, which is another little tongue-in-cheek reference to the countryside and the heritage of the car. Also, the traditional Defender clock has been replaced with a Paul Smith fascia. My designs are known for their attention to detail, so I didn’t want this Defender to be any different.”

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While Paul has added many playful and personal touches, the Defender retains traditional elements, such as the wing mirrors, door handles and wheels – something that was of paramount importance to the designer. These were then given a satin finish, to create a contemporary feel.

“I felt it would be a fitting tribute to the iconic Defender, that one of Britain’s most distinguished designers worked with the Land Rover team to recognise his creative vision.”Gerry McGovern, Design Director and Chief Creative Officer of Land Rover,

This exclusive Defender forms part of a year-long celebration of the famous Defender as it enters its final phase of production at the Solihull manufacturing plant. Click to see the Limited Edition Defender models that are available.

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