British engineering firm Tecniq has created a bespoke Land Rover Defender to mark the 40th anniversary of the RAF’s Chinook twin-rotor helicopter.
Called the Q40 Defender, the one-off Defender has been extensively modified with custom parts including hand-finished bodywork, a cockpit-styled interior and a Ford-sourced turbocharged V8 petrol engine.
The remapped 2.3-litre Ecoboost unit endows the Q40 with 303bhp, driving both axles through a six-speed automatic gearbox. Improved brakes have also been added: 345mm discs at the front and 330mm at the rear.
Inside, carbonfibre racing seats have been fitted, finished in hand-stitched Bridge of Weir leather throughout. A new steering wheel has been added and the instrument panel has been redesigned to be “ergonomically optimised” for the driver.
The front is finished in dark materials in a nod to the Chinook’s cockpit, while in the contrasting two-seat rear compartment, passengers get a “luxurious seating area”, complete with a champagne-storing centre console.
The luggage bay has been portioned off with webbing taken from the loadbay of the aircraft itself.
Tecniq’s Classic Racing team also worked on the Q40, redeveloping the chassis and giving it a new suspension system that features programmable dampers, upgraded anti-roll bars and bushing and lowered coil springs.
These changes are claimed to have improved the performance, dynamics, and efficiency over the original 4x4.
The Q40 is a one-off vehicle, and proceeds of its sale at the Goodwood Revival in September will be donated to the Royal Air Forces Association charity.
Tecniq co-founder and CEO Nigel Lempriere said: “The Q40 Defender project was born to celebrate all that's great about the Chinook, showcasing Tecniq’s latest automotive technologies and engineering capabilities and supporting the great work carried out by the Royal Air Forces Association.
“The aircraft really is iconic, and the Q40 Defender is our way of celebrating the 40-year service milestone to our country, having played so many key roles with the military in efforts across the world.”
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The Chinook entered service in 1962 so sixty not forty years
If you listen carefully, you can hear the sound of a dead horse being flogged.
Well, I spent many happy hours feeling thoroughly sick in the back of a Chinook doing tactical flying!! I can assure you it does not have leather armchairs and champagne in the back. But at least it's for a good cause.
@ Deputy
My thought exactly...have these people ever looked inside a Chinook!!!! A more basic place to sit couldnt be imagined....other that possibly a series 1 Land Rover.
Sloppy editorial Autocar - which engine does this have, a turbocharged V8 or the (four cylinder) 2.3 Ecoboost
I too wondered which engine it was, the 2.3 four pot or a V8?
Still either way, I like it, as I do like original defenders and series landies.
Back of a Herc, auto correct got me there.
Sloppy editoring, or is there a new 2.3 ecoboost V8?