There are plenty of Land Rover Defenders on UK roads these days, but you’re unlikely to see another one quite like this.
At the SMMT Drive Live event at Stanbrook Abbey, Worcester, we were handed the keys to something rather special: the Urban Automotive Heritage Convertible.
Based on a 2025 Land Rover Defender 90 3.0 D250 MHEV X-Dynamic HSE, this particular car is currently the only one of its kind in the world.
And yes, the roof comes off.
The vehicle is a collaboration between British vehicle customisation specialist Urban Automotive and Heritage Customs, transforming the familiar Defender 90 into an open-top model.
Urban Automotive, based in Milton Keynes, was founded by Simon Dearn in 2013 and has built its reputation modifying premium vehicles with an “OEM+” approach.
Its work is perhaps best known on models including the Defender, Range Rover and Mercedes-AMG G-Class, although the company has also turned its attention to everything from the Lamborghini Urus and Rolls-Royce Cullinan to the Audi RS6.
But even by Urban standards, the Heritage Convertible stands out.
The first thing you notice is, obviously, the roof. This is no ordinary Defender and, even among Urban’s creations, it feels different.
Then you open the door.
The Mandarin interior absolutely pops. The cabin has been completely retrimmed in Mandarin leather with Urban branding and quilting, while Recaro front seats feature carbon fibre backs. There’s also a custom Heritage Series dashboard overlay.
It won’t necessarily be to everyone’s taste, but that’s rather the point.
This isn’t a car designed to disappear quietly into the traffic.
Roof down, it attracts attention almost everywhere it goes. Some buyers will love that and others won’t, but it’s difficult not to appreciate what Urban and Heritage Customs have created as a complete package.
The exterior gets Urban’s Widetrack treatment, including extended arches, lower front canards, square daytime running lights and the company’s branding package. There’s also a closed-vent bonnet with visual carbon fibre accents, Best of British side trim and carbon fibre mirror caps.
Our car also featured a Mandarin Orange wrapped roll cage, providing an eye-catching link between the exterior and that striking cabin.
Importantly, though, turning a Defender into a convertible doesn’t appear to have ruined the way it drives.
Out on the roads surrounding Stanbrook Abbey, it felt solid. There has naturally been reinforcement involved in converting the Defender into a soft top, but you would probably need to be very familiar with a standard Defender 90 to immediately pick out the difference from behind the wheel.
The 3.0-litre D250 isn’t going to provide the same drama or outright shove as a V8 Defender, but that doesn’t feel like the purpose of this car.
This is more about the experience.
It’s for someone who wants a capable Defender but also wants the wind in their hair and something almost nobody else has.
There’s plenty of room up front and, although we didn’t test the rear seats ourselves, there appeared to be a useful amount of passenger space, particularly when compared with many other convertibles.
Boot space is naturally more limited. That’s already one of the compromises associated with the Defender 90 format, and the convertible configuration doesn’t make this the obvious choice for carrying huge amounts of luggage. Without rear passengers, however, those back seats offer useful extra storage.
You still get plenty of the technology expected from a modern Defender, including heated front memory seats, an electronically adjustable heated steering wheel, adaptive cruise control, air suspension, wireless charging, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus a 360-degree camera.
But it’s the conversion and Urban upgrades that make this car what it is.
It’s fun, it has enough performance, and it feels considerably more premium than the sort of traditional open-top off-roader you might otherwise think of.
Most importantly, it’s memorable.
At £159,975, this is clearly not going to be a Defender for everyone. The supplied specification describes it as bringing together “British design and specialist craftsmanship”, and after driving it, that’s a fair summary.
The example we drove is also currently for sale on Car & Classic.
So, if you want something genuinely unusual and fancy being the person who takes home the only one currently in existence, this might be your chance.
