Yahoo Autos Land Rover Classic Defender Works V8 Islay Edition revealed, celebrates Wilks and whiskey
The Land Rover Defender followed the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen: Both faced extinction earlier in the millennium, both have rebounded into wider and more profound popularity than previously known. The biggest difference between them is that the G-Class was revived after a low ebb, whereas the Defender died and was resurrected. This gives Land Rover the benefit of two kinds of Defenders to celebrate, and here's another huzzah for the original. Land Rover Classic has created a limited edition based on the brand's origin lore. It's called the Land Rover Classic Defender Works V8 Islay Edition, built on the Defender Works V8 as last year's Trophy II Edition. The foundation is a wagon restored with parts from donor vehicles made from 2012 to 2016, powered by a 5.0-liter V8 with 399 horsepower shifted through an eight-speed automatic, upgraded with a new suspension and LED lighting.
The hallmark bits glorify co-founder Spencer Wilks, on the more managerial side of Land Rover's inception while brother and co-founder Maurice was more about the engineering. Spencer drove a Series IIa and early prototypes around his Laggan Estate on Islay, the fifth-largest Scottish Island located off the country's southwest coast. His Series IIa is on display in the Land Rover Classic collection. On one of his trips around the property, he was driving a Land Rover mule cobbled atop a heavily modified Rover car platform. When estate gamekeeper Ian Duncan saw the test vehicle, he's reported to have asked Wilkins if he was driving "a Land Rover."
