The Rarest Defender
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The rarest Gibson Firebird of all time might just be this 1964 Kerry Green example. Gibson hired car designer Ray Dietrich to design the reverse-shape Firebird – a difficult-to-construct guitar that didn’t last long before being altered to a simpler, non-reverse design – making early Firebirds in Custom Colours some of the rarest electric guitars in existence.
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Also among the real rarities is the similar colored Defender 90 Heritage with only 400 vehicles manufactured. The Heritage edition was created to celebrate the end of Defender production.
Image source: http://www.autocar.co.uk
The 2015 Land Rover Defender 90 Heritage is a charming limited-edition example of the ever-popular British 4×4, which features a number of touches inspired by the marque’s past. It was available in both the short-wheelbase ‘90’ body style or the longer ‘110’ configuration, each was finished in Grasmere Green paintwork with a white roof and silver-painted door hinges and bumpers, and was fitted with heavy-duty 16-inch steel wheels, which are painted in the Grasmere Green body colour.
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Designed to emulate the original Series I as much as possible, the final Land Rover Defender, number 2,016,933 rolled off the production line at Solihull on January 29th, 2016.
Image source: http://www.autocar.co.uk
Under the bonnet is a turbocharged 2.2-litre DT224 diesel inline-four, delivering around 120bhp and 265lb-ft of torque to all four wheels through a six-speed manual transmission with a lockable centre differential and selectable low-range gearing for superior off-road performance.
Image source: http://www.autocar.co.uk
In keeping with its reputation as a rugged utility vehicle, this Defender was fitted with an all-weather rubber boot liner, preventing any undesirable scratches or scrapes, and the front floor coverings are similarly purposeful. Nonetheless, the Heritage edition does include some creature comforts, namely air-conditioning and heated seats, and the factory specification naturally includes a high and low range gearbox and even a heated rear windscreen, an analogue clock, manually operated windows and also features a factory-fitted Alpine radio/CD player.
Image source: https://www.autoexpress.co.uk
As a nod to the marque’s heritage, on the left side originally there was a sticker saying HUE 166, which references the registration number of the world’s oldest surviving Land Rover, built in 1948.
Image source: https://www.driving.co.uk/
Image source: https://www.autoexpress.co.uk
Peter Faidt
