An extravagant Land Rover Defender restomod powered by a modern supercharged V8 with upgraded suspension and interior will cross the auction block in the USA on March 8 expected to bring home $140,000–150,000, even though its original owner had paid around $350,000 for the job.
The SUV seen here started its life as a 1985 Land Rover 110. Silodrome reports that a new owner, who bought it in 2017, immediately handed it over to 3R Automotive for an upgrade. For the record, 3R Automotive is a company founded in Colorado by SCCA Trans Am and IMSA driver Robert Raub.
While restoring the off-roader, the tuners turned it into a pickup truck with a single seat row inside, a white body, a black-and-white hood with vents, and a number of parts offset in black for contrast – the roof, the bumpers, the fender flares and so on. Black 15-inch wheels slotted into the arches along with Goodyear Wrangler MT/R tires.
A 6.2-liter LS3 V8 was put under the hood along with a 2.9-liter Whipple supercharger. As a result, the SUV sends 650 horsepower (479 kilowatts) to the wheels and sprints 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 5.3 seconds. It uses a 6L80E six-speed automatic transmission in tandem with a dual-range transfer case and AWD. The suspension benefits from a TeraFlex lift kit, and the disc brakes come from the Land Rover Discovery lineup. The claimed mileage is minuscule at 4,200 km (2,600 miles).
Inside, the main highlights are a leather-wrapped Puma dashboard, Recaro Anniversary bucket seats and a Momo three-spoke steering wheel. The center console is custom, too, and hoses a button-based transmission selector from Powertrain Control Solutions alongside a couple of cup holders. An engine launch button, modern Alpine audio, a Vintage Air climate control system and USB charging ports are included as well.