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Here are 15 unusual ways to use a Land Rover Defender
As Defender gears up for its toughest adventure yet – the Dakar Rally – here are some of its wildest assignments to date
CAPE-TO-CAIRO, COVID STYLE
In October 2021, legendary overlander (with his legendary beard) Kingsley Holgate and his team set off in a convoy of Defenders on a gutsy, 4,100-mile expedition through Africa – on a humanitarian mission at a time when few dared to attempt it.
After a sticky start with weeks of torrential rains, and with all six crew floored by malaria, things got even worse. Covid chaos and Ethiopia’s civil war forced a detour through Sudan’s volatile territories where they were chased by AK47-wielding guerrillas – the Defenders’ speed and strength literally saving their lives.
Following the White Nile north through the terracotta sands of the Nubian Desert, past the pyramids of the Black Pharaohs and through Cairo, they reached the Mediterranean – having delivered food, mozzie nets, upgraded 12 early-learning centres and helped over 300,000 people at the peak of the pandemic.
FOR REAL LIFE
To Dubai now, where the Defender was given a serious shakedown by teams from the Red Cross – who tested it on terrain where they need it most. Think soft desert dunes, rubbly tracks, risky roads and searing heat – plus the mountain roads of Jebel Jais to check out its handling, comfort and composure at nearly 2,000 metres.
It was all part of the Defender’s real-world development regime, which took the car beyond the test track and simulators and into the hands of those who depend on it most. Like the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, whose partnership with Defender stretches back over 70 years, to when a specially adapted Land Rover served as a mobile dispensary in the Middle East.
Since then, Land Rovers have supported emergency response and humanitarian work around the world, in some of the hardest-to-reach communities.
ON RED ALERT
A specially converted Defender 130, donated to the British Red Cross, is on active duty in North Wales – where phone signal is only marginally better than on the Moon. Its mission: to stay cool, calm and connected in some of Britain’s most off-grid places.
So the Defender is loaded with comms kit, including a 4G antenna, GPS telematics and even an old-school VHF radio should all else fail. Plus a solar-powered auxiliary system to keep it all charged even when the engine is off.
Combined with the Defender’s famous 4x4 talents, and a boot the size of a warehouse, it’s ready to respond to all sorts of off-grid emergencies with essential equipment, medical aid and – most importantly – cups of tea from the built-in water boiler.
NOBODY DOES IT BETTER
Pub quiz: what happened to the first Defenders to leave the production line? Answer: they were sent straight to the set of No Time to Die, the 25th Bond blockbuster, where stunt crews were ready and waiting to destroy them.
Except they didn’t, because despite battering them across the Scottish Highlands chased by several motorcycles and a helicopter – in a sequence including aerobatic jumps and a barrel roll – the cars lived up to the movie’s name.
Best of all, and except for some extra safety kit, they were completely standard. Stunt co-ordinator Lee Morrison expected the Defenders would survive two or three takes. In the end they went flying seven times and still didn’t die.
BORN TO BE WILD
In 2019, a prototype of the new Defender was dispatched to Kenya’s Borana Conservancy to support Tusk’s Year of the Lion campaign – complete with specially designed camouflage to help it blend into the bush.
There, Tusk’s team used the prototype to track and monitor lions across savannahs, plains and pride lands, testing it in the wild before its official launch. Where the lions went, the Defender followed, fording rivers, hauling trailers and clawing up muddy banks – all captured in cinematic style by world-renowned photographer David Yarrow.
It was part of Defender’s longstanding partnership with Tusk, and the mission continues – with 10 more vehicles lined up to support the charity’s frontline work protecting Africa’s animals and the landscapes they call home.
THE ULTIMATE UNION
From the mud of grassroots pitches to the bright lights of international finals, few cars have tackled the rugby world quite like the Defender.
As an official partner of the 2023 World Cup in France, Defender created 23 bespoke Trophy Edition cars, each hand-finished by SV Bespoke and inspired by the official trophy vehicle. The story continued with the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup in the UK, when a one-off Defender 110 Trophy Vehicle toured all eight host cities.
There was also a trip across the Irish Sea to Enniskillen RFC – once the home of Emily Valentine, the first recorded woman to score a try back in 1887, when she was just 10 years old. It was part of Defender’s Trailblazers campaign celebrating rugby’s pioneers and the next generation.
PAY ATTENTION AT THE BACK
The Defender hasn’t just explored the world, it’s helped us understand it too. For over 40 years Land Rover has worked with the Royal Geographical Society to support fieldwork across the globe, supplying cars and know how to help boost our knowledge of people and places with pioneering tech in some pretty extreme environments. Think of it as the ultimate geography teacher.
Defender and the RGS also launched the Earth Photo competition in 2021, urging people to head outdoors and immerse themselves in the landscapes around them. The idea? To spotlight environmental and geographical stories through images and film. Winning entries included images of a geothermal spring in Iceland’s highlands, forests and vineyards in Spain, and coastal communities in West Africa.
BAPTISM OF FIRE
Some of the Defender’s greatest adventures happened long before it went on sale. Because to wear the badge, first it had to earn it through more than 1.2 million kilometres of testing – a kind of global boot camp where only the toughest survive.
Across 45,000 individual tests, the prototype fleet was pushed to breaking point in some of the harshest environs on Earth: enduring 50°C desert heat, –40°C Arctic cold, the high-altitude trails of Moab in Utah, and the mud ruts of Eastnor Castle in the UK. Its on-road dynamics were honed on the Nürburgring, while cutting-edge simulation and rig testing fine-tuned every system down to the smallest bolt.
The testing regime also enlisted the people who depend on the Defender most – from wildlife conservation teams to Red Cross crews.
READY FOR LAUNCH
After those 1.2 million kilometres of testing – the equivalent of driving around the world 30 times –Top Gear put another 700km under the Defender’s belt, during the official media launch in Namibia.
Over three days we cruised, crawled, scrambled and splashed around gravel tracks, rocky passes, dusty deserts, dry riverbeds and muddy ones – loaded up with camping kit and survival essentials (mostly wet wipes and crisps).
The highlights? Conquering the bouldery Van Zyl pass, the fiercest off-road route in Namibia with slopes steeper than a black ski run – driving past the mangled wrecks of less capable cars.
From there it was onwards through the sandy Marienfluss Valley – an animal highway for giraffes, elephants, baboons and lions, but with zero actual roads. Then it was along the Skeleton Coast and back to Purros – a remote settlement in the heart of Kaokoland, home to the nomadic Himba tribes people.
WILD WEEKENDS
For most festival-goers, mud is the enemy. At Destination Defender, it’s practically a welcome drink. This is part music festival, part adventure camp — a celebration of the Defender dream and the people who’d happily swap a hotel for a hog roast.
The US edition picks a new backdrop each year – from New York’s Hudson Valley to Texas ranch country and, most recently, California’s Temecula Valley – but the vibe stays the same: off-road courses, guided trails, live music, good food, firepits and stories of far-flung places.
There are driving challenges, mountain bike loops, a DJ lounge, outdoor yoga and wellness stuff for the morning after, and the chance to check out classic expedition Defenders that drove to the end of the map and kept going.
It’s a gathering of the Defender faithful (or the curious), whose idea of a good weekend takes them off-grid and into the wild.
THE (MOUNTAIN) GOAT
In 2021 Defender was the official workhorse of the world’s toughest adventure race, the Red Bull X-Alps. A fleet of Defender 110s hauled medical crew and support teams across 1,238km of alpine terrain, while 32 competitors hiked, ran, climbed and paraglided the route – crossing five countries in 12 days.
The Defenders acted as rolling base camps – carrying gear, food and roof tents (a welcome sight for the athletes at the end of a hard day’s action). This wasn’t a photo-op job. The Defenders had to climb steep goat tracks, deal with the weather’s mood swings, and be there when the going got tough.
The race, won by Switzerland’s Chrigel Maurer for the seventh time, featured its longest-ever route from Salzburg to Mont Blanc and back. A walk in the park for a vehicle like the Defender.
ROCK AND ROLL STAR
Defender can take you half the world away, and that’s exactly what it did as the official automotive partner of the Oasis Live ’25 tour – supporting all 41 dates across 10 countries, from Cardiff to São Paulo.
A fleet of Defender 110s rolled with the band and crew throughout, moving VIPs, equipment and the occasional well-behaved brother from backstage to backroads and beyond.
Think load-in, load-out, late-night service stations, early starts, and the kind of logistics that turn a tour into an expedition. The convoy covered thousands of miles across Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Australia, in stadiums, arenas and other venues.
The partnership also played out in various cities along the way, featuring street murals – beginning in Manchester, naturally – plus outdoor campaigns and social drops marking each stop.
Some might say it was a masterplan.
FIELD WORK
When the Glasto mud’s up to your ankles and the headliner’s on in 20 minutes, who do you call? Enter Defender. In Summer 2025 it returned as the official vehicle partner of Glastonbury Festival for the third year running.
A fleet of 35 electrified Defenders shuttled artists, VIPs and crew across the 900-acre Somerset site – making the trip from the Park to the Pyramid Stage faster than any welly-wearing punter could dream of. Two of those Defenders even carried defibrillators, supporting the festival’s first-responder team in the moments where seconds matter.
And the Glastonbury connection runs deep. Land Rovers have been part of the festival since 1970, and founder Michael Eavis is still often seen bimbling around the site in one of his trusted old Defenders.
TROPHY LIFE
Digging deep into 70 years of adventure DNA, the Land Rover Defender Trophy is a global competition for everyday drivers to prove they’re anything but ordinary. Thousands applied in more than 50 countries to take on a three-stage selection process: local qualifiers began in 2025, national finals will follow in early 2026, and the Global Final is set for October 2026 in southern Africa.
To enter, applicants had to be at least 23 years old, able to swim 50 metres, and demonstrate a working knowledge of navigation, teamwork and practical problem-solving — so no weekend warriors here.
The challenge? A mix of driving skill, physical effort and mental puzzles played out over unforgiving terrain, all in the spirit of the famous Camel Trophy. In partnership with Tusk, the Global Final also supports real conservation efforts – bringing the competition spirit to an internationally important cause.
OVER TO YOU
It’s not all about official expeditions or organised challenges. The spirit of Defender is most alive in the hands of the people who actually buy it, load it up and point it toward the horizon with only a vague idea of where they’ll end up.
Since the new Defender launched in 2020, owners around the world have been making their own adventures. Some head for alpine passes or remote bothies, others tackle deserts, others cross entire continents.
Campsites become basecamps, dead-ends become a dare to continue, and the map becomes more of a gentle suggestion. Fancy some inspiration? You don’t have to look far. Social feeds are full of stories of real-world Defender adventures. So get searching… and get out there. And catch up on how the Defender team does in the mighty Dakar Rally right here on TopGear.com.
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