Brute squad: Land Rover Defenders on the roll

The Land Rover Defender is no more. An European working class hero turned global icon with legendary status for its durability and reliability, the Land Rover Series and the Defender nameplates have become synonymous with man's innate desire for adventure and mobility. The end of a 68 year long production run is obviously a sad affair, but also an occasion to celebrate one of the most prolific badges in motoring history.

The trio of Defenders in front of you today are anything but classic, with the oldest one of a 1998 vintage and the newest being a 2015 model. However, considering the basic formula of the Defender has largely stayed true to its 1950s origins and most of the late 90's Defenders have seen quite a bit of abuse, they do need a significant amount of TLC to be presentable.

That responsibility has fallen squarely on the shoulders of one man and his garage, tirelessly working to keep the Defenders in the country running in top shape – Asad Moyeen, and Motorwerks.

Motorwerks owner and Land Rover/Nissan Patrol/Classic Mercedes specialist, Asad Moyeen.

The Motorwerks touch is unmistakable on the two Defender 90's. The short wheelbase soft-top brutes are painted in a bright yellow and orange, flawless paint finish and subtle aftermarket touches abound. To the untrained eye, they look like ordinary Defenders with bright paintjobs, as ordinary as they get anyway. To the Land Rover specialist, though, the slight tweaks like the aftermarket grilles, lights, indicators, vents, badges, mudflaps, overfenders and bumpers all tally up to make the Defender much more special. It helps that the options catalog of a Defender makes a customer run out of patience before pages, and the immense aftermarket support available to Defender cults worldwide is nothing to scoff at either. One has to have the ability to weed out the unnecessary trinkets from the relevant ones, and if ever there was a man for that job, it's the differential locked mind of Asad Moyeen. Just one example of his unique approach to restoring Defenders: the orange 90's interior has a pair of leather bucket seats from a Mazda RX8, which look so at home that you'd think the Defender came with it.

It's not enough to build these cars, they need to be driven accordingly as well. Motorwerks has so far handled almost 17 unique Defender builds, with a steady stream of customers flowing in from all over Bangladesh. The ones they build, though, are driven hard and over most things. It's apparently not an uncommon sight, a brightly coloured Defender clawing its way through rubble and piles of rock, uphill, downhill, through streams and undergrowth on the outskirts of Dhaka. Lock the differential, engage the low ratio gearbox, and clamber over or down anything you want. It's true then: never follow a Defender over rough terrain in anything else, unless you plan on getting stuck.

Powering the Defender are torquey 2.5 litre 4 cylinder TDI turbodiesel engines, putting out approximately 111 HP and 210 lb-ft of torque. While that may not seem like much considering the immense weight and the brick-like aerodynamics, on (and off) the road, the Defender has a surprising pace. There is a slight hint of the turbocharger whistle, the engine note dominated by the huge amount of air it sucks in at high RPM.

As far as creature comforts go, the Defenders come with very little. "Air conditioning" comes in the form of two vents beneath the windshield that you push open from the inside, and the interior is sparsely finished to the point that you only get a strap to hold on to as a safety feature. It IS filled with quirky details though: the horn is at the far end of the indicator stalk instead of being a part of the wheel; that's the way it has been forever.

On the other, more comfortable end of the spectrum, you have the brand new 2015 model, a 110 Defender. Its no regular Defender though, as it is equipped with Hofele's Bear S110 package, which includes upgraded front, rear bumpers, side steps, mirrors, lighting, and a full tan leather interior. It also has proper air conditioning, and has a dashboard that you can call a dashboard in the proper sense of the word. It's all a bit pricey, but considering the sheer road presence that the owner Omar Chowdhury enjoys, it seems to be worth it. Under the hood is a Ford Duratorq 2.2 litre putting out around 153 HP and 262 lb-ft torque.

It's not a question of comparison, it never was, but as far as character goes, the older 90s ooze a charm that is undeniable to even the most car-illiterate of people out there. They may lack the creature comforts, but there is something about the older Defenders that drive people to restore and run them for as long as they can take the abuse. The new 110 is more athletic swag than rugged charm, although there is absolutely nothing wrong with that either.

The Defender will forever hold a place in the list of automotive greats. It has played a significant role in humanitarian efforts worldwide, in keeping the peace alongside civil services, and found a way to keep the smiles going on the faces of anyone who has ridden, driven or owned one. Now that it's gone (reportedly it's coming back, but the new one will be hugely different), we can actually look back with an immense fondness for this brick with wheels that dared to go anywhere that one could imagine.

Photos: Rahin Sadman Islam