The Defender pedal car. Photo courtesy Jaguar Land Rover.
Kurt Ernst on Oct 7th, 2015
As of this writing, production of the iconic Land Rover Defender is scheduled to end in late 2015 or early 2016, after the last of the capable off-roaders are assembled for commercial buyers. Just as assembly of the full-size Defender is winding down, Land Rover has announced that production of a smaller version, boasting an output of one childpower, will be ramping up.
Shown at this year’s Frankfurt Auto Show, the Land Rover Defender pedal car is a faithful reproduction of “Huey,” the first pre-production Land Rover that carried registration HUE-166 (the source of the truck’s nickname). Built by hand in the U.K., each pedal Defender will carry an aluminum body, finished in Loire Blue and mounted atop an aluminum frame with an individual chassis number. Though lacking a transmission or front differential, the rear-drive scale SUV comes complete with a spring suspension and working brakes (including a parking brake), and can be “driven” in forward or reverse.
Front and rear bumpers, along with side rails and diamond-plate sills, ensure that the truck will stand up to all the backyard adventures its pneumatic off-road tires can deliver. Inside, budding adventurers will enjoy the comfort of “leather finish” seats, steering wheel and storage cover, and a working horn should keep neighborhood pets out of the scale Landy’s path.
At an estimated price of £10,000 (roughly $15,500), it’s a safe bet that these Defenders won’t be found beneath many Christmas trees during the 2016 holiday season. Land Rover is building them more for collectors to mark the departure of the original Defender than for tykes to explore the wilds of Central Park, and there’s yet another method to Land Rover’s madness. Per Jaguar Land Rover director of branded and licensed goods Lindsay Weaver, “It demonstrates our ability to produce goods with world class quality and attention to detail that can emulate our world class Jaguar and Land Rover cars.”
Production is expected to begin in early 2016, though there’s no word yet on whether or not the Defender pedal cars will be imported into the United States.
THE PEDAL CAR CLUB 