Land Rover may offer its Defender in three- or five-door body styles but it doesn’t offer a soft-top convertible. Enter Dutch coachbuilding firm Heritage Customs with a saw.
UPDATE, 26/04/2022 – Heritage Customs co-owner Niels van Roij has confirmed the company intends to modify a right-hand drive Defender 90 model.
“We’re currently discussing possibilities with a selection of world wide prospects,” expanded Mr van Roij.
The Valiance Convertible is based on the three-door Defender 90. It’s modified at the firm’s headquarters in Enter in the Netherlands and costs €84,700 ($A124,779) for the conversion alone, excluding shipping and taxes.
For context, the cheapest Land Rover Defender 90 available locally costs A$80,540 before on-roads, or €54,668. And that’s for the entire car.
Only five of these modified convertible Defenders will be made in 2022 and according to Heritage Customs most of the build slots are already accounted for.
The firm has just begun modifying the first Valiance Convertible as well, showing it with its roof cut off.
Although there are no mechanical changes to the Defender, the Valiance Convertible includes the following features:
- Semi-electric soft-top roof
- Magic Metal interior and exterior trim
- Heritage Customs logos on the side and rear
- Forged alloy wheels
That list is only just the beginning though because Heritage Customs personalises every vehicle to the customer’s desires by offering individual paint, trim and design options, as well as an interior that “can be finished in almost infinite ways”.
To demonstrate the number of ways the Valiance Convertible can be customised, Heritage Customs has created three different sample specifications.
The first of these is called Solihull Sand, which pays tribute to the first Land Rover that came off the production line in 1948.
It has green exterior paint, 20-inch white Space Cowboy forged alloy wheels, and a Spinneybeck leather interior.
Solihull Sand 
Kokkini Paralia 
Côte d’Azure
Another is the Kokkini Paralia which pays homage to the archaelogical site on the southwest coast of Santorini. It’s known for its deep red rocks and cliffs.
This model has a dark matte red exterior paint with 22-inch Supersonic alloy wheels, sports seats, and a Spinneybeck leather interior.
The last of these sample specification Valiance Convertible models is the Côte d’Azur which pays tribute to the Mediterranean coast of southeastern France, which is known for its glamorous beach resorts.
It has a bespoke blue exterior paint, 22-inch Space Cowboy wheels with whitewall tyres, and a Spinneybeck leather interior with copper details.
“The Heritage Customs Valiance Convertible is the ultimate expression of our customers,” said Heritage Customs co-owner Jan-Pieter Kroezen.
“Based on the sketches, a number of our very loyal customers have immediately decided to purchase their coachbuilt Valiance.”
