Defender Hardtop – Rear seat conversion
Defender Hardtop – Rear seat conversion
The latest Land Rover Defender generation has taken the market by storm, an every growing number of these cars are hitting the road in both car and commercial form. The practicality of the L663 Defender is great for most people however for those that want to take it one step further, Land Rover have created the L663 Defender ‘Hardtop’.
A car derived van, commercial version of the 90 and the 110. From the outside, it’s largely the same as the car version however the big differences happen on the inside. In both variants, the standard interior fit out is a 2 seater setup with a van style bulkhead behind the front seats. You can opt for a 3rd ‘jump seat’ placed between the passenger and driver to increase the seating capacity to 3.
For the 90, this leaves a slightly larger load space than the road car however the big difference is with the 110 variant. With fully opening rear doors, the same as the car version the options for storage and load space are greatly increased. Land Rover have designed the rear of the hardtop with cubbies, storage compartments designed for the working owner. From plumbers to farm owners, the hardtop version is being used as a van countrywide.
Our rear seat retrofit opens up a whole new world for 110 Hardtop owners. The installation of a fully ECE approved 3 capacity rear seat, that is fully folding to form a bulkhead when not in use.
This conversion offers unrivalled safety in the rear seat conversion market whilst blending suitably into a luxury vehicle interior. Our conversion is fully ECE approved for this specific vehicle install I.e. not a generic one size fits all approach. They feature 3 point seatbelts across all 3 seats unlike most competitors who only offer a lap belt on the middle seat. The two outer seats are also installed with ISOFIX. When not in use the seat install can also be flipped forward to create a bulkhead to protect the front seat occupants when loaded. Genuine JLR parts are used wherever possible including the rear window surrounds.
The seats have completed testing at Millbrook Proving Ground to be fully compliant in all respects to EC regulations 14 & 17. These relate to seat strength and seat belt anchorages. This also includes a dynamic test on a high gravitational sled, the same as any original equipment vehicle manufacturer.
This far and above the minimum requirements and certainly over and above anything offered by most competitors. This process actually involves a brand-new vehicle shell being procured from the manufacturer for the tests by our build partner. Whilst a hugely expensive and long-winded process it provides total peace of mind for both our current and future customers.
The result is the best of both worlds, a seating capacity of 5 without it feeling out of place & all the space of the original hardtop. Simply fold the seats out of the way when not in use. Each conversion is trimmed to match the existing front seat style for a seamless look.
If you have a 110 Hardtop that you are looking to convert please contact our sales team on 01244 629 533 or [email protected]
