- Goodwood Festival of Speed debut for Urban Automotive’s first convertible: the Urban Widetrack Heritage Series Soft-Top based on a Land Rover Defender 90
- Limited-edition ‘Valiance’ coachbuilt soft-top conversion by the craftspeople at Heritage Customs in the Netherlands, recently acquired by Urban to join its Bespoke division
- Personalisation includes Urban’s Widetrack styling package plus interior re-trim in Hermes Orange leather, with Recaro front seats and custom Heritage Series dashboard overlay
Limited edition exclusivity with bespoke styling
Based on a limited-edition Valiance soft-top conversion by the Dutch specialist, Heritage Customs, recentlythe Defender has been made even more exclusive with Urban’s Widetrack exterior styling package plus a full interior re-trim in Hermes Orange leather, with Recaro front seats and custom Heritage Series dashboard overlay.
With five seats, a semi-electric folding roof and Land Rover’s legendary off-road capabilities, this striking and unique soft-top conversion is ready for the beach or the city’s streets.
For Urban’s trademark style, the Widetrack package adds extended wheel arches and an XRS-style (Extreme Road Series) vented bonnet with exposed-weave carbon fibre vents, lower front canards and square DRLs, plus carbon fibre mirror caps and accents on the ‘Best of British’ side vents. This look is completed with 23-inch Urban WX-2 R cast black alloy wheels fitted with Yokohama Advan Sport tyres.
Factory finish quality
All bespoke carbon fibre parts are designed and produced to the highest quality by Urban’s skilled in-house team in the UK. Urban’s strict ‘OEM+’ design mantra ensures a factory finish to every modification with unrivalled quality, style and durability.
Heritage Customs is the first company to convert the Land Rover Defender into a soft-top, a process that requires hours of labour by its highly experienced craftspeople, from cutting the donor car to reinforcing the body with a custom roll cage.
Successful collaboration leads to acquisition
The collaboration to create this unique soft-top with the team in Holland proved so successful that Urban has acquired Heritage Customs and will be introducing a Heritage product line of accessories, parts and interior customisations to its Bespoke vehicles division.
Urban and Heritage Customs were both founded by individuals with a passion for premium vehicle customisation that has proved extremely successful. Like Urban, Heritage Customs designs high quality bespoke parts and accessories for interior and exterior customisations – with the Land Rover Defender also as a core part of its success. Heritage also designs and builds bespoke coachbuilt vehicles, such as its Land Rover Defender Valiance soft-top and pick-up.
Simon Dearn, founder of Urban Automotive said: “The Land Rover Defender is one of our most popular models, so it’s exciting to add such an exclusive, bespoke soft-top version to our range. This collaboration with Heritage Customs has been incredibly rewarding and it quickly became clear that the team in Holland shares our passion for quality and personalisation. It’s been a pleasure to welcome them to the Urban family.”
Jan-Pieter Kroezen, the founder of Heritage Customs commented: “The collaboration with Urban felt good from the beginning and I’d like to say a big thank you to the whole team of the AM Group and Urban for making it happen.”
“We share the same passion for luxury cars as Urban, and both have fun at work. As we have our own tastes and products, we don’t really compete, so I believe that merging the Heritage brand within Urban makes sense as it offers many new opportunities for us both and our customers. We believe your car is the last few square-metres that are totally yours, so it is worth making it worthwhile,” added Jan-Pieter Kroezen.
Commenting on the acquisition, Patrick Meijer, CEO of AM Group (Urban’s parent company) said: “This is a strategically important move for Urban as by adding Heritage to our portfolio, we are enhancing our ability to meet the unique desires of our clients worldwide. It brings an added layer of design depth and storytelling to our bespoke offering – and strengthens our position at the very top of the market.”
Urban Widetrack Heritage Series Soft-Top Defender: Specification
The soft-top conversion can be done on new or pre-owned Defender 90 models, while Urban’s Bespoke service can personalise the colour and trim to any customer’s choice.
Exterior
- Full Heritage Customs Valiance soft-top conversion
- Urban Widetrack extended wheelarches
- XRS (Extreme Road Series) style vented bonnet with visual carbon fibre vents
- Best of British side vents with visual carbon fibre accents
- Visual carbon fibre mirror caps
- Lower front canards
- Lower front square DRLs
- Urban branding pack
- Urban WX-2 R cast black 23-inch black alloy wheels
Interior
- Full interior re-trim in Hermes Orange leather
- Recaro front seats
- Custom Heritage Series dashboard overlay
For more information about Urban Automotive and Heritage Customs, visit www.urban-automotive.co.uk and https://heritagecustoms.nl/.
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About Urban Automotive
Urban Automotive, the UK’s foremost luxury vehicle styling provider, was established in 2014 as an independent vehicle modifier, with the aim of providing ‘OEM Plus’ design, and a bespoke vehicle modification service.
With headquarters and vehicle production based in Milton Keynes, Urban Automotive is a carbon fibre specialist and has become one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of carbon fibre styling kits for an expanding range of premium and luxury models.