A unique 1km sand drawing at Red Wharf Bay in Anglesey, UK, marks the launch of three exclusive limited edition models.
As UK production of the current Defender enters its final phase, Land Rover will use 2015 to celebrate its global automotive icon.
“Passion and enthusiasm surround everything we do with Defender, and that will never change. With a history stretching back 68 years, this is a Land Rover that has thrived for decades on its unquestionable capability and iconic shape," said Land Rover Vehicle Line Director Nick Rogers.
To mark the announcement, Land Rover has created the largest sand drawing ever produced in the UK.
A Defender outline measuring a staggering 1km across was drawn on the beach at Red Wharf Bay in Anglesey using a fleet of six Land Rovers.
The unique image is a tribute to the moment in 1947 when the engineering director of Rover, Maurice Wilks, first sketched the shape for the original Land Rover in the sand of Red Wharf Bay and proposed the idea to his brother Spencer, Rover’s managing director.
“My father met his brother on the beach at Red Wharf Bay and made a drawing in the sand of how he thought the Land Rover could be made,” said Stephen Wilks, son of Maurice.
“That was the start of it all, the conception of Land Rover.”
Land Rover's trio of Defender Limited Editions
The Wilks family owned land on the Welsh island and Maurice wanted a versatile vehicle that could double as a light tractor and off-roader.
His forward-thinking design was christened the ‘Land Rover’, the outline of which we now recognise as the Defender.
Creating the giant piece of temporary artwork at Red Wharf Bay required a fleet of six Land Rovers, each towing an agricultural 12-foot harrow to draw the unmistakable outline of the Defender in the sand.
The vehicles chosen for the race against the Anglesey tides chart the evolution of the Defender from its introduction in 1948 to the present day.
A Land Rover Series I, II and III were joined on the beach by a Ninety from the Eighties, a Defender 90 Hard Top and a Defender 110 Station Wagon.
The immaculate Series II once belonged to the Wilks family and in memory of the moment originally enacted by their fathers, cousins Stephen and Nick Wilks, the sons of Maurice and Spencer Wilks respectively, were on hand to take part.
They helped to draw the continuous 4.52km line – the length of 1,118 Defender 90 Station Wagons – into the sand with just minutes to spare before it was erased by the incoming tide.
The event witnessed the debut of the Defender Celebration Series; three exciting new limited edition models which each celebrate a different element of Defender’s unique history.
The Heritage, Adventure and Autobiography Editions are all powered by Land Rover’s proven 2.2-litre diesel engine.
Land Rover is also investigating the possibility of maintaining production of the current Defender at an overseas production facility, after the close of UK manufacturing.
Any continuation would see low volume production maintained for sale outside the EU.
