Land Rover Defender: Not just a British icon, but the 4x4 that built Malaysia

Much has been written about the history of the Land Rover Defender but there is surprisingly very little about it from a Malaysian perspective, which is odd considering the fact that Malaysia (specifically Cameron Highlands) is known around the world as the place Land Rovers go to spend their remaining days.

Ipoh’s Jalan Bendahara, specifically S.V.K Trading (erroneously marked by Google Maps as V.K.S Trading) is very well-known among Land Rover enthusiasts in all corners of the world looking for spare parts to keep their ‘Landy’ running.

Sorry hardcore Land Rover fans, because covering the 68 years history of Land Rover in Malaysia is a topic too wide (and too niche of a focus) for us to cover. That’s a topic best left to veteran local motoring gurus and Land Rover fans Yamin Vong and Paul Si.

Instead, this post is for everyone else who has no idea who Maurice and Spencer Wilks were, and for younger buyers who are wondering why is the world fussing over a Land Rover Defender when a Porsche Cayenne is superior in every area relevant to a modern day driver.

The short answer to that is culture. The Defender is the Swiss Army knife of cars. It’s an icon.

You buy it because it’s a newer, better version of the classic Defender that you once bounced about in the wooden bench seats behind, or because your hero dad once had one.

So what’s so special about the Land Rover Defender?

Like the Swiss Army knife, the original Defender is used by military (and police) forces in many parts of the world, especially in former British colonies like Malaysia.

It’s mechanically simple, and can be transformed into almost any work vehicle – from ambulance to fire trucks to tow trucks, even amphibious vehicles!

Its design remained more or less unchanged – because it was close to perfection - in the 68 years it was produced in Solihull in the UK, from 1948 to 2016. Local assembly in Malaysia continued for a few more years, until 2018, when all available CKD kits were used up.

That’s quite a feat for a car that started life as a sketch on the beach. In the mid ‘40s after World War 2 had ended, Maurice Wilks, then the engineering director at Rover, was tasked by his brother Spencer, who was Rover’s managing director to find a production that would increase utilization of the Solihull plant.

At the same time, the Wilks brothers was also looking for a simple agricultural vehicle for their family’s farm.

Without going into too much details, Maurice sketched the design on the sandy beach of Red Wharf Bay on Anglesey, and by 1947, the first prototype was built.

Since steel was in short supply in the post-war years, the Land Rover (Defender name was only used in 1990) was built using an aluminium alloy called Birmabright.

No clay models, no computer aided designs, no financial controllers. Just two brothers doodling with sticks on sand, that’s how the icon started life.

The 4x4 that built Malaysia

Long before the term SUV existed, Malaysians used to refer to any off-road vehicle as a ‘Land Rover,’ doesn’t matter if it’s actually a Toyota Land Cruiser or a Mitsubishi Pajero.

To a regular Malaysian living in the '60s through the '90s, any car that can keep on driving after the road ends is a Land Rover. It’s a Malaysian household name. Like Maggi, or Milo. Doesn’t matter if it’s actually Cintan or Ovaltine.

Back then, the Land Rover Discovery didn’t exist, so Land Rover was both the brand and the model name. There were two variants – the short wheelbase 90 and the long wheelbase 110 – numbers denoting the vehicle’s wheelbase in inches.

It was only in 1990 that Land Rover created the Defender model name.

For the many Malaysians who lived through the early years of Malaysia, the Land Rover was the car that towed their car when they had a mechanical breakdown, brought vegetables from the farms to your local shops.

More importantly, the Land Rover Defender defended our young country from the Communist insurgency.

Until today, many farmers in Cameron Highlands still ply their trade using barely road legal early model Land Rover Defenders. It is said that most government fleet Land Rovers – which is a huge fleet - will retire in Cameron Highlands, where they spend their final days in peaceful farms.

Why Cameron Highlands? Because Land Rovers are such essential tools of trade for farmers, JPJ has created a special registration type for these old Land Rovers, paying just 10 percent of the usual road tax rate, on condition that these Land Rovers won’t be driven outside Cameron Highlands.

This is why you see a lot of old Land Rovers with the ‘CH’ lettering on the doors in Cameron Highlands.

Although the more modern Toyota Hilux has replaced the ageing Land Rovers as the most common transport for farmers, there are still many farmers who are sticking to their Land Rovers.

Another place where old Land Rovers are still going strong is Bukit Larut (Maxwell Hill) in Taiping. Private cars are not allowed to go up the picturesque hill resort and the only way up and down Maxwell Hill is by Land Rover Defenders.

Fast forward to 2021, the world is a very different place from what Maurice and Spencer Wilks spent their prime years in. Today’s car industry would’ve chewed and spat out any car that was conceived and built the way the Wilks brothers did in 1948.

So the latest 2021 Land Rover Defender (watch the local launch event's video here) has to be better in every way, and still live up its reputation as the world’s best 4x4 by Far.

Of course, the original Defender is what purists and collectors want but if you want to work a farm, frankly a Toyota Hilux is better and today’s Land Rover has no interest in doing that anymore.

Today’s Land Rover owners are a demanding lot and the latest L663 generation 2021 Land Rover Defender is a reflection of that. It even comes with a ClearSight Ground View feature that allows you to “sees through” the bonnet. James Bond would approve.

Starting from RM 798,800, you would think that it's an overpriced icon, but it's sold out for 2021 even before it was launched. Book one today, and you will have to wait in line behind other wealthy collector before you can get yours in 2022. Interested buyers can register their interest here.

Also read: Sold out for 2021: So what if the all-new Land Rover Defender costs RM 800k?