Like many other F1 drivers, Lando Norris lives in Monaco. In a country where supercars are ten a penny, Lando has decided to commission a bespoke Land Rover Defender to drive around in on the streets of Monte Carlo.
Lando Norris' cars
The whole time he’s been in F1, Lando Norris has been a driver for McLaren. That’s meant his line up of company cars has been a little more spicey than the normal range of tax-dodging efficient diesels or hybrids available to most normal workers. Infact, he’s had most of the McLaren supercar range at his disposal.
Lando’s been seen driving a 570s, 765LT, 720s, Elva, Artura and pretty much every other McLaren road car to have emerged from the Woking-based factory over the last 5 years.
But he isn’t restricted to just driving McLarens. Recently he was seen driving his absolutely stunning Lamborghini Miura through the streets of Monaco.
The Miura is a beautiful car. Some suggest it’s the most beautiful car ever. But Lando’s version, in dark blue with an orange interior, is about as good as they get.
Lando Rover Defender
So from Lando’s Lambo we know he has impeccable taste. It’s no surprise, then, to hear that his latest road going purchase strays far from the usual run of modern supercars.
Lando has commissioned a one-off, bespoke Land Rover Defender built by the Yorkshire-based Land Rover restoration firm Retro Defenders.
According to the company’s director Ben Davies, their relationship with Lando came about after he slid in to their DMs.
“Lando had been sitting around the dinner table with some fellow F1 drivers and they were all chatting about how they loved the car and what the brand stood for,” said Davies.
“After he sent us a message, we explained a little more about our philosophy, craftsmanship and attention to detail, and we then set about consulting with him to create his own bespoke retro-styled Defender.”
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Lando was spotted driving his Lando Rover, along with his sister and her boyfriends, on the streets of Monaco:
Retro Defenders start with a donor Land Rover and completely strip it down to its bare chassis. Every part is then fully re-engineered to be better than new, or custom made by the company and its suppliers.
On Lando’s particular model, based on a 2001 Land Rover Defender 90, Lando wanted there to be no roof at all.
“When we consulted with Lando about his customisation project, he was clear that he wanted the car to be completely topless, without any form of roof or sticks,” explained Davies. “We’ve never had that request before. Customers normally want some form of roof on it, so this really enhanced the individuality of the creation.”
The build of Lando’s Defender took 1,000 man hours, and was completed by a team of just 7 employees over about 6 months. The company prides itself on its hand-built creations by a team of experts, so only completes 15 cars each years.
The ‘Lando Norris commission’ features custom Nardo Grey paint on its 30mm wider body, sitting over an Egyptian Blue leather interior. Under the bonnet is a 3.9 litre Rover V8, sporting a side exit exhaust mated to a manual gearbox.
The chassis runs on a custom adjustable air-ride setup with big off-road spec FOX dampers and an uprated brake kit.
The finished car was delivered to Lando in early 2024 in left-hand-drive specification, perfect for the streets of Monaco. Amongst the Ferraris, Porsches and Bentleys that cruise the streets of Monte Carlo, Lando is undoubtedly going to be turning some heads in his new drop top Land Rover. Or should that be Lando Rover.
Hideous. And stupid.