"The Land Rover Defender was launched in 1948 and, incredibly, production only finished in January 2016 after a continuous run of 67 years. Outwardly, there is little to distinguish the post-1983 vehicles from the Series III Land Rover. A full-length bonnet, revised grille, plus the fitting of wheel arch extensions to cover wider-track axles are the most noticeable changes. Internally, coil springs offered a more comfortable ride and a permanent four-wheel drive system derived from the Range Rover featuring a two-speed transfer gearbox with a lockable centre differential. A modernised interior and a new series of progressively more powerful and modern engine characterised things under the skin.
This very rare right hand drive 50th Anniversary Edition was factory built in South Africa in 1999, there is a letter from Land Rover SA in history file confirming such, and was fitted with a BMW 2.8i six cylinder engine mated to a manual gearbox, which is superb according to the vendor. This vehicle was imported into the UK in 2016 and was subsequently restored. Only 26 of these limited edition 50th Anniversary models were made for South Africa and we understand that very few can be found in the UK. This is a wonderful edition with the smooth, powerful and reliable BMW engine, presented in its original colour combination of blue with black interior. A truly great workhorse ready to be used as it was built for."