Most limited-run cars and trucks are based on the versions with the most: the ones with all the features and all the engine. This is especially the case with luxury car companies. So something like the Land Rover Defender Beach Break is quite the surprise, because it’s based on, well, the base Defender 110, and it’s priced accordingly. With that being said, there’s not a whole lot going on here, and what is, looks oddly familiar.
The Beach Break is based on the Defender 110 S with the turbocharged four-cylinder and 296 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. It even sticks with the leatherette upholstery of that base model, and just has the Tasman Blue paint from the normal lineup and the available white-painted 20-inch steel-style wheels. It does have a unique bundle of accessories not offered regularly, including the side-mounted storage box, roof cross bars, side steps and mud flaps. Though the real attraction is the set of sunset stripes (with lettering that says Beach Break), and the fact that Land Rover is only selling 20 of these models.
Land Rover notes that the name and the color and graphics theme are all based on the theme of Pacific beaches. That’s fair, combining blue and white hues with sunset oranges and reds. We can’t help but notice the striking similarity to the Ford Bronco Sport Free Wheeling: another boxy, retro, rugged SUV with sunset stripes. Ford certainly doesn’t have a monopoly on such graphics, but it’s an amusing similarity.
Certainly the Defender is much larger and more capable off-road than the Bronco Sport, and odds are the two won’t be cross-shopped. For the person looking at the Defender Beach Break, they’ll be pleased to know that it’s not much more expensive than a basic 110 S. It starts at $73,325. An equivalent 110 S with one of the other accessory packs would come to a very similar, and sometimes higher price tag. Prospective buyers ought to hurry, though, since 20 units will probably move quickly.
