Paul Smith has teamed up with Land Rover to create the most British Defender ever
Designer Sir Paul Smith is known for taking quintessentially English themes and adding a bit of pizzazz. Now he's taken arguably the most stiff-upper-lip, Pimms-and-jolly-hockey-sticks car ever made – the Land Rover Defender – and turned it into a rolling advert for Great Britain.
The a collaboration between Smith and Land Rover was unveiled earlier this week, as the car manufacturer's Solihull factory prepares to end production of the 67-year-old Defender in December this year. It's made by Land Rover's Special Vehicle Operations team, which fits out custom cars.
The vehicle is decked out with 27 exterior panels in different colours, inspired by the British countryside.
"I wanted rich deep colours, but at the same time I wanted them to work together yet be surprising," Smith said.
The interior – all masculine black leather and Smith's characteristic stripes – features "lots of hidden details", including an image of a set of keys inside the glove compartment, and a "hand-painted bee on the roof". Because why not hand-paint a bee on the roof?
If you're a Defender fan, keep an eye out for Land Rover's year-long "celebration" of its most famous car. It's already commissioned three models, the Autobiography, the Heritage and the Adventure.
"Each special vehicle commemorates a unique element of the Defender's versatile character," said Land Rover. So there you go.