Home / Motoring / SUVs & Trucks

These Two Companies Just Built the Defender Pickup That Land Rover Won’t

A Defender with an open bed is the only variant missing from the model’s historic lineup.

Black electric pickup truck with illuminated square taillights on a dark background.Urban Automotive
Add Gear Patrol as a Preferred Source on Google
A black and white portrait of a smiling man with short, dark hair. He is wearing a light-colored blazer over a collared shirt. The background is plain and unobtrusive.

By Chris Chin

Published

·

If you’ve been holding out for a Land Rover Defender pickup based on the latest model, but saddened by its lack of existence, hold out no more. Two companies in Europe just revealed their own custom takes on one of the Defender’s most iconic forms.

Heritage Customs out of the Netherlands and Urban Automotive from the UK just revealed their modern takes on a classic: the original Defender pickup.

Today, the Defender comes in three-door 90 form, five-door 110 form and extra-long 130 form. But all have long roofs and closed-off interiors, just like the original models.

Black modern pickup truck with aggressive hood vents and LED headlights parked on a paved surface.
Heritage Customs and Urban Automotive’s Defender 130 pickup looks like a job done by Land Rover themselves.
Urban Automotive

But because the Defender was such a worldly and diversified vehicle, the original versions and its predecessors also even came in pickup form. Today, no Defender pickup exists. But in case you wanted one, you now have options.

Custom Defenders to show-up your neighbor’s Jeep Gladiator

White and black electric pickup truck with roof rack and black wheels parked on a forest road.
Who knew the Defender 130 could look so good with its hindquarters cut off.
Heritage Customs

Beginning with Heritage Customs’ take, it starts life as a Defender 130, fully-loaded with the top-spec BMW-sourced 5.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8. The Dutch-based customization firm, who’s best known for customizing newer Defender models, then hacked off the rear of the 130.

White and black Land Rover Defender pickup truck with roof rack parked on a forest road.
Heritage Customs opted for a more factory-fresh look, versus Urban Automotive’s “murdered-out” appearances.
Heritage Customs

In addition to cutting the the trunk portion of the roof off, they removed the D-pillars to essentially create a Defender 130 pickup. But instead of being some shade-tree botch job, Heritage Customs completes the job with a bed-mounted rollover protection bar, a high-quality bed liner and a swing-out bed door based off the 130’s original hinges.

Rear side view of a white and black electric pickup truck with illuminated taillights and roof rack in a forest setting.
Although not pictured, the trunk-mounted spare tire is supposedly still under development for a potential option.
Heritage Customs

There’s even an added roof rack for more accessories as well. But while Heritage Customs keeps it simple and retains most of the Defender 130’s appearances, Urban Automotive takes it a bit further.

The ultimate urban assault Defender

Known for customizing high-dollar super- and luxury cars as well as Land Rovers, Urban Automotive adds their own twist to Heritage Customs’ original work.

Black Urban electric pickup truck with rugged tires and roof lights parked in front of a modern building.
Urban Automotive’s take on the Defender 130 pickup looks adventure ready.
Urban Automotive

The company adds a matte-black finish along with custom blacked-out wheels, blacked out wheel well extensions, a redesigned front lower fascia, and a custom vented hood.

Urban also removes the roof rack, adds a slim-profile forward-facing LED light bar on top of the windshield, and more.

Front view of a black Urban electric SUV with LED headlights and roof lights against a concrete wall background.
The extended wheel arches add a very intimidating appearance.
Urban Automotive

As of now, the vehicles both done up by Heritage and Urban are prototypes. But the companies said they’ll be production-ready by next year with an official debut scheduled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July 2026.

Car interior with tan leather and suede trim, digital instrument cluster, touchscreen display, and center console controls.
Heritage Customs also reworks the interior for a much ritzier ambiance.
Heritage Customs

Should one want to reserve a Defender 130 pickup conversion, they’ll need to set aside around £60,000. In Yankee numbers, that’s just under $79,000, on top of the V8-powered 130’s six-figure price.

About the Author: Chris Chin is an associate editor at Gear Patrol, covering cars, trucks and anything else with four wheels. He has over a decade of experience writing news and reviews but considers himself an enthusiast first, with a passion for classics and European cars. His daily driver is a 1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL with nearly 250,000 miles (87,000 are his).

Read More

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add Gear Patrol as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.

add as a preferred source on google