Coachbuilder reveals Land Rover Defender convertible

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Heritage Customs Valiance Convertible based on the Land Rover Defender 90

Land Rover has two-door Defender 90 and four-door Defender 110 and Defender 130 body styles but no coupe or convertible options.

For buyers looking for something unique, a Dutch company specializing in modified Defenders has launched a Defender 90 convertible conversion.

The company is Heritage Customs, which is co-owned by Niels van Roij, whose separate Niels van Roij Design has offered coach-built specials in the past such as the Adventum Coupe two-door Land Rover Range Rover and Ferrari 550 Maranello-based Breadvan homage. Van Roij has now helped develop unique details for Heritage Customs’ Defender 90 convertible, some of which have never been featured on a Defender before.

Heritage Customs calls its Defender drop-top the Valiance Convertible, and the cost of the conversion starts at 82,500 euros (approximately $90,000). Depending on the specification, the process takes about three months.

The conversion starts with the removal of the fixed roof. The B-pillars remain and are joined by a custom crossbar to help maintain structural rigidity. The missing roof is then replaced by an automated soft-top roof that folds back behind the rear seats. Since customers choose their own donor Defender 90, it means a V-8 powertrain is possible.

Like Heritage Customs’ regular line of Valiance Defenders, the Valiance Convertible benefits from custom exterior and interior colors, along with unique trim options, forged wheels, and available bucket seats for the driver and front passenger.

One interesting trim option is what Heritage Customs calls Magic Metal. According to the company, it can apply a metal-like surface via a paint process, and this surface can even undergo an oxidization process to create a rust-like effect. This means that ordinary plastic parts can be made to look like old metal with decades of patina.

HIGH-RES GALLERY: Heritage Customs Valiance Convertible based on the Land Rover Defender 90

This article was originally published by Motor Authority, an editorial partner of ClassicCars.com

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