Want A New Land Rover Defender 90 Convertible? Heritage Customs Will Make You One

What do you get when you combine the short-wheelbase Land Rover Defender 90 with the imagination of designer Niels van Roij? The answer lies in the Valiance Convertible, a coachbuilt two-door soft-top off-roader that will be built in very limited numbers. To be precise, Heritage Customs will build just five units in 2022, with work on the first example already underway.

As proven by the photos, the first step of the conversion is to remove all of the windows from the donor car. Then the lower part of the bodywork gets masked with tape, the interior gets covered and the chopping begins.

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While it is hard to watch a brand new Defender under attack by a power saw, the roof, rear pillars and a portion of the rear door must be sacrificed in order to turn it into a Valiance Convertible. Those panels will be replaced by a “semi-electric” foldable soft-top, with earlier renderings showing it would extend up to the top of the front windshield.

Each example will be highly personalized in collaboration with the owner as part of the Carchitecture program. Besides the soft-top, options include custom shades for the exterior, Magic Metal elements, forged wheels, handcrafted interior features, optional sport seats, and special emblems to further distinguish it from your regular Defenders.

The Kokkini Paralia sample spec is named after the famous Red Beach of Santorini island

Heritage Customs has already presented three sample configurations called Côte d’Azur, Solihull Sand, and Kokkini Paralia. We don’t know if the owner of the first Valiance Convertible opted for one of those, or went for a unique look but we guess we will find out soon when the conversion is completed.

According to the company, most of the five slots for 2022 have been already taken, so if you would like a convertible Defender you must hurry up and place your order. The indicative price for a Valiance Convertible is €138,500 excluding taxes, which translates to $150,839 at the current exchange rates. Would you spend this kind of money to get your precious Defender chopped off?