
This is the first Future classic to cause an argument in the C&SC office.
Not so much over its inclusion – telling in itself – but over which model we should choose.
After much debate we narrowed it down to two: the most utilitarian, commercial-spec, short-wheelbase diesel, which is as close to the spirit of the original as the luxed-up new Land Rover Defender gets; or this, the outrageous petrol-fired V8.
In the end, because we suspect so few people will be able to afford to buy one – or fuel it – we decided that the full bells-and-whistles V8 was likely to be the one most coveted, even if many in the team would rather have the poverty model.

The Land Rover Defender’s plush interior may seem at odds to that of the original, but makes it a Mercedes-AMG G63 rival
Not that any new Defender justifies that tag: even the cheapest is more than £40k, and the short-wheelbase V8 is nudging £100,000 (the LWB tops it before you add any options).
Time was that would seem ludicrous, but such is the cult that has surrounded Land Rover in recent years that a six-figure sum is no longer a surprise – pukka Works V8s fetch up to twice that.