This is the Legend Motor Co. Signature Series 001 – and before you roll your eyes at yet another custom shop jumping on the bespoke Defender bandwagon just hear me out for a moment.
This Defender has a Kevlar-lined aluminum body, a Jeep JK chassis, Fox racing suspension, and a 455 bhp GM LT1 6.2L E-Rod V8. In some respects the Signature Series 001 is a window into an alternate universe, where the Defender was developed by Americans rather than Brits.
Fast Facts – The Legend Motor Co. Signature Series 001
- Founded by Nick Panos, Sawyer Carpenter, and James Frauenberg in Salt Lake City, Utah, Legend Motor Co. specializes in hand-building off-road vehicles. Their inaugural project, the “Signature Series 001,” is a bespoke, luxury 4×4 that reimagines a classic British off-road icon with modern American components for improved performance and ease of ownership.
- The Signature Series 001 maintains the iconic silhouette of the classic Land Rover Defender, featuring an all-aluminum, Kevlar-lined body mounted on a modern Jeep JK chassis. This fusion of classic design with advanced materials and technology aims to create a unique off-road vehicle that marries heritage with modern drivability.
- The vehicle is equipped with a GM LT1 6.2 liter E-Rod engine (with an optional upgrade to a more powerful LT4 engine), producing 455 bhp and 465 lb ft torque. It incorporates a GM 8-speed automatic transmission, ATLAS II transfer case, and Ultimate Dana 60 HD axles, ensuring that the power can be reliably transmitted to the ground without breaking anything.
- The Signature Series 001 is fitted with a coil-sprung multi-link suspension system with Fox 2.5″ fully adjustable shock absorbers, ARB air lockers front and rear, heavy-duty disc brakes all around, and BFGoodrich KM3 Mud-Terrain tires.
How To Build A Modern Defender
When the new Land Rover Defender was released in September of 2019 it was met with a seemingly unimpressed general public. This new Defender seemed designed to cannibalize the pre-existing Range Rover and Land Rover Discovery model series rather than provide a genuine replacement for the rugged, go anywhere Defender of old.
This is the modified version of the Jeep JK (four door) chassis that underpins the Signature Series 001.
The classic styling of the Defender was gone, as was its body-on-chassis construction, live front and rear axles, and Mecccano-like extensibility. Instead, the new Defender is a wildly complex machine with no less than 85 ECUs, an opulent interior, and electronic control systems for just about everything you can imagine.
All of that said, I know many who have bought a new Defender and love it, it’s also become JLR’s biggest current seller with 27,616 units sold, so maybe I know nothing and this is all just humorless bloviating. Still, I can’t help but wish the new Defender was more like the new Suzuki Jimny, the Jeep Wrangler, or the new Ford Bronco – and I know I’m not alone in that.
One group of individuals who wanted to try their hand at creating a new Defender was Nick Panos, Sawyer Carpenter, and James Frauenberg of Salt Lake City, Utah. The men founded the Legend Motor Co. with one very specific goal – developing a better Defender.
Rather than simply upgrading the classic Defender or modifying one of the new models they opted to go in an entirely unique direction – replacing the entire chassis, drivetrain, and interior while keeping the aluminum body in place (albeit with modifications).
The Jeep/Land Rover Connection
The very first Land Rover was developed in the immediate aftermath of World War II by Maurice Wilks, Rover’s chief designer. He had bought an army surplus Willys Jeep to use on his farm in Anglesey, North Wales and he has quickly grown quite fond of it.
The longer wheelbase means the Signature Series 001 can accommodate up to nine people, thanks to the rear jump seats.
As a designer he began to realize that with a serious of relatively small modifications the Jeep would be able to serve as both a tractor and an automobile, essentially two vehicles in one.
Jeep engineers in the United States had independently come to the same conclusion, and both the first Land Rover and the Jeep CJ-2A of the same era would come with front and rear PTO (Power Take-Off), allowing the vehicle’s engine to power farm equipment.
Over the decades that followed the Jeep CJ series and the Land Rover Series (and Defender) vehicles would evolve in parallel, each on their own side of the Atlantic, but always looking over the other’s shoulder.
The Signature Series 001
Given the 70+ years of history linking Jeep and Land Rover it makes complete sense that at some point the two vehicles would become one. It took Nick, Sawyer, and James of the Legend Motor Co. to make it a reality – combining a modern Jeep JK chassis and a Defender body, with a slew of upgrades to create what is almost certainly the ultimate British/American 4×4.
These are the founders of Legend Motor Co., from left to right they are Nick Panos, James Frauenberg, and Sawyer Carpenter.
The project to build the Signature Series 001 started with that Jeep JK chassis but it didn’t stay that way for long, the suspension was completely revised to include a new coil-sprung multi-link suspension system with Fox factory race series 2.5″ fully adjustable remote reservoir shock absorbers front and back.
The Defender body is all aluminum, just like the Land Rover original (with the exception of the bulkhead and some other sections), but the Legend Motor Co. have taken it one further by adding a Kevlar liner inside and underneath for extra protection, which is color-matched to the exterior finish.
Rather than using the Jeep drivetrain a new layout has been developed with a GM LT1 6.2 liter E-Rod V8, ( which is compliant with 50-state emissions regulations), producing 455 bhp and 465 lb ft torque. There is also the option to upgrade to a LT4 6.2 liter E-Rod V8, which turns out 650 bhp and 650 lb ft torque, though this may be overkill for many people.
Power is sent back through a highway-ready GM 8-speed automatic heavy-duty transmission and an ATLAS II 3.8:1 transfer case offering high and low range for serious off-road use. Dana 60 HD front and rear axles are fitted, they have been modified with ARB air lockers, allowing the differentials to be locked from the driver’s seat when required.
The interior of the vehicle features hand-sewn full aniline open grain leather seats, with captain chairs up front, a bench seat in the second row, and jump seats in rear cargo area. As you might expect it’s fitted with modern A/C including both heating and cooling functions.
The vehicle rides on 37×12.50r17 BFGoodrich KM3 mud-terrain tires front and back with 17×8 steel wheels, ensuring it’s perfectly at home when the trail gets rough.
A Soundboks Bluetooth removable stereo system is installed, along with custom-made Legend Motor Co. gauges “german square” leather bound removable floor mats, and a billet steering column with tilt.
The good news is that Legend Motor Co. are now taking orders for the Signature Series 001, if you’d like to read more or enquire about getting your own example built you can visit the website here.
Images courtesy of Legend Motor Co. + Andy Marsh
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
