How do you fancy owning the last Land Rover Defender to be officially imported to the United States? Well, number 300 of the 300 North American Specification (NAS) 90s built is heading to auction with Gooding & Company in Scottsdale, Arizona later this week. Before the American government outlawed the cult-classic 4x4 in the late-1990s because of its lack of US-required passive restraint systems, the Defender was a rare and highly sought-after alternative to the ubiquitous Jeep. As you can imagine, afterwards it became a veritable collector’s item.
All 300 of the Defender 90 NASs were painted Willow Green with a white roof and grey interior. Where the final car differs is that it’s fitted with a heavy-duty winch, four Hella spotlights and a factory-fitted automatic gearbox and air-conditioning system. Perhaps more importantly, it’s only covered 36,000 miles and presents as such. We don’t tend to wholeheartedly agree with auction house descriptions, but when Gooding & Company describes this car as ‘a truly singular opportunity’, who are we to argue?
Photos: Gooding & Company