Company bids adieu to boxy Land Rover ute with a Defender trimmed with special interior and exterior add-ons.
For decades, the Land Rover Defender was an icon of off-road performance and military service. Land Rover stopped producing it last January, ending the Defender’s long career of service in both rough natural conditions and revolutions. Chelsea Truck Company, a division of Kahn Design, has decided to say goodbye to the Defender in its own special way.
The England-based company got its hands on 25 Defenders and is using those as the starting point for its “The End Edition” line of vehicles. Chelsea Truck Company’s (ironically) French Racing Blue cube features a special grille that sits between a pair of LED headlights. Under the hood, there’s a 2.2-liter turbodiesel four. That’s flanked by wider fenders, which are also on the back half of this special Defender.
Up top, there’s a black satin roof surrounding a panoramic glass sunroof. It coordinates with the black of the 9″ x 20″ Mondial Volcanic Black alloy wheels wrapped in 275/55R20 tires.
Chelsea Truck Company has also upgraded the interior with a variety of touches, including leather accents on the dashboard and instrument binnacle, a Churchill clock insert, machined aluminum pedals, and a billet and leather steering wheel. The perforated leather sport seats have striped fabric inserts that are supposed to bring to mind “the attractive inner lining of a well-made suit.”
Given Chelsea Truck Company’s work with Land Rover vehicles, perhaps it will decide to come out with a “The Beginning Edition” line in 2018 when Land Rover starts producing a next-generation model of the Defender. Land Rover claims it will have a functional design, durable interior, practical technology, and off-road expertise.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
