This 1988 Modded Land Rover Defender Is Ruggedness At Its Best

You don’t have to be into old off-roaders in order to appreciate the seriousness of this modified 1988 Land Rover Defender 90. It was refurbished and tuned by Arkonik in the UK, before making its way to a buyer in the U.S. back in 2016.

Now, it’s getting auctioned off through Bring a Trailer with only 1,100 miles (1,770 km) on its 3.5-liter V8, which is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox.

The tuner refinished the exterior in Copper Black Metallic, adding Optimill billet hinges, handles and fender vents. Other mods include the Puma hood and bulkhead, flared wheel arches, black 18-inch wheels, plus the LED exterior lights which include projector headlights. The seller later added extra waterproofing to the front doors, and replaced the ‘Arkonik’ hood lettering with a ‘Defender’ script.

Related: Overfinch Turns Land Rover Defender 90 Into $320k Bespoke Off-Roader

In the interior we see a black, green and orange color mix, with plenty of Alcantara on the seats, dash, side paneling and rear door. There’s also additional LED lighting, a custom steering wheel and an Alpine touchscreen display, which features Apple CarPlay.

There are also plenty of creature comforts inside, such as heated seats for the front row, air conditioning, bespoke suede headlining, heated rear window with rear wash wipe and more.

In order to make this Defender look slightly less utilitarian, Arkonik skipped the roof rack, A bar, Chequer plate and rear LED work lamp. However, while this is easily one of the most interesting examples we’ve seen all year, it’s still not quite up there with this $320k Overfinch-tuned one. On the other hand, with a highest bid of $33,000, it’s bound to be much easier on your wallet, even if there are still four days left in the auction.