Defender 110 Trophy Edition launched ahead of FOS

Well, this was bound to happen. With a proper off-road halo model now atop the range in the shape of the V8-powered OCTA, Land Rover has opened the taps on other ‘expedition-ready specification’ Defender variants – specifically, in this case, the 110 Trophy Edition, which, as the name suggests, celebrates the manufacturer’s knack for far-flung adventuring. 

If that puts you in the mind of Camel-branded, jungle-conquering Land Rovers of yesteryear, then you’re halfway there: the new Trophy Edition certainly looks the part, but aside from the introduction of new 20-inch gloss black wheels and Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure tyres, there is nothing much to boast about on the hardware front. You can’t have the new trim level with the V8 either – so there’s no chance of speccing your way to a cut-price OCTA. 

But you absolutely can have the Trophy as a D350, and in fairness to the standard Defender and Land Rover, that pretty much means you’re buying the best (family-friendly) off-road car in the world anyway. So there’s certainly no shame in opting for either of the heritage-inspired paint jobs – there’s a choice of Deep Sandglow Yellow or Keswick Green – and embracing some flashy model-specific decals. 

Elsewhere, you get a contrasting black finish on the bonnet, wheel arches, and undershield, Trophy-illuminated treadplates, model specific badging – plus, inside, the Defender’s distinctive ‘cross car beam’ is colour-matched with the exterior. Not quite as implicitly rugged as the 130 Outbound variant launched last year, with its cavernous, rubberised boot and nonsense styling – but appealing enough to the lifestyle buyers Land Rover is likely aiming at. 

Much like the Outbound, for anyone hoping to go the whole hog – i.e. to mimic the cars you see in the pictures – you’ll need to option something called the Trophy Edition Accessory Pack, which includes items like the roof rack, the deployable roof ladder, the front and rear mud flaps, and the (still somewhat redundant) raised air intake. That’s £4,995 for the lot, including fitting, bringing the 110 Trophy Edition’s asking price up to £89,810. 

No small chunk of change when you consider that an entry-level Defender S 350 starts at £66,965 and (tyres aside) will be no less capable of making impeccable headway the minute asphalt turns to dirt. On the other hand, if you want the version that really does go where no other Defender has been before – i.e. sideways on gravel – you’ll need to earmark £148,045 to get anywhere near the all-singing OCTA. The Trophy Edition being priced somewhere between the two probably says all you need to know about it.