. That’s what I discovered when piloting just such an example from David and Cole Manz, the father-son duo who founded the DefenderThis New 400-Foot Gigayacht Has 3 Pools and an Underwater Lounge
The Manz team, like so many other similar operations, adds modern performance and luxe appointments to the classic, formerly utilitarianquickly becomes an exercise in traveling slowly due to underpowered drivetrains and minimal braking muscle. Then there’s the steering of a land yacht and suspension that creaks and rattles over just about any road imperfection.
From behind the wheel, it’s easy to forget that there’s another axle all the way at the rear of the build.The classic seating position rides high and vertical, allowing for plenty of visibility over the hood. And offset pedals may entice some drivers to immediately begin left-foot braking. Behind the front buckets, the rear seats provide minimal legroom and require a similarly upright posture that may become uncomfortable on longer road trips.
Another sticking point for me was that a few modern touches throughout the build tend to clash with the overall appearance and spirit, especially the carbon-fiber hood and the digital push-button gear selector on the center console, both of which seem entirely out of place. But Manz will spec a true gearshift lever to match the transfer-case shifter in classic style, and specific build preferences can drop the use of carbon fiber altogether.
This Defender 6×6 restomod was originally developed as an engineering exercise to draw attention to the New Hampshire–based restoration house’s other Defender projects.Land Rover originally built a small run of Defender 6×6 to serve as troop transports, ambulances, and safari vehicles.