Skyfall Automotive has just been announced in 2024, it is a company conceived from a young man’s dream born to a family with a serious 50+ year classic car restoring background, and with the sole purpose of refining what originally started as a war vehicle, nowadays a true icon, Skyfall Automotive is the brainchild of a true car enthusiast.
Based in Mexico, Skyfall Automotive is presented as Bespoke Builders specializing in the Land Rover Defender, with 5 different models available: two-door Defender 90, four-door Defender 110, pickup Defender 130, and both 90 and 110 Defenders converted to a crew cab pickup.
Options include converting the Defender to a soft top convertible in any shade to match your leather interior, if that’s what you want. Engine options are limited to the original bulletproof TD5 diesel engines-little torque monsters- for now, as no LS engine swap variant has been released, nor any customer has ordered one. Skyfall Automotive will be happy to offer American V8 powered Defenders in the near future. For the time being, the TD5 diesel engine is mated to a manual 5-speed gearbox, and no word has been said on a possible transmission for the LS swap yet.
Every unit is personally selected by the Skyfall staff in Europe: a test drive is made to ensure the vehicle is in an ideal condition for the restomod, and no rust is present. Land Rover has an undeniable heritage, which serves as a more-than-solid starting point.
Once approved for their upcoming transformation, the lengthy process of importing them into Mexico starts, and several weeks after they’re ready for a complete external and internal makeover. Mechanical issues can be sorted, but in reality, by the time a Defender is approved by the Skyfall staff the vehicle has already passed a lengthy checklist making sure it doesn’t require any serious repairs.
The makeover goes as deep as separating the bodywork from the chassis, restoring the chassis to original Land Rover specification as the day it left the factory, and then reuniting them again for a numbers-matching vehicle restomod.
The Skyfall brand is catered to clients who desire the classic Land Rover Defender look, and have even dreamt about it for long, but because of the market conditions haven’t been able to acquire one before. The Land Rover Defender was originally imported in very small numbers: between 90 and 100 units are estimated to ever have arrived in Mexico.
Of those units, less than 10 can be found for sale, and with prices exceeding €110,000 which is substantially more than what the base price for a pristine Skyfall unit starts at: around €83,000.
Skyfall Automotive is invested in acquiring the very best base vehicles from the 90s- 00s era available and preserving originality over all, but they also have a clear goal in mind: making bespoke units for each and every customer.
“Skyfall stands for quality over everything, limitless personalization options, and a clear focus in every client’s desires” – Luis Argüelles, Skyfall Automotive Founder.
External colors that go from using the original Land Rover palette, to paint-matching absolutely any color (Porsche PTS much?). Their suggested color palette when personalizing your Defender includes, of course, both the original shades and finishes from Land Rover as well as iconic shades from iconic brands: Aston Martin, Porsche, Bentley, among others.
The interior options include a Marshall-branded Bluetooth speaker, several shades of leather for the seats, alcantara and different stitching options, and it’s worth mentioning their leather work is within the best in the industry: their specialized supplier happens to be the same as Porsche’s, Mercedes’ and some other top-of-the-industry players. Apple Car Play and Andoid Auto connectivity is part of the entertainment system with a touchscreen in the center console, which comes as quite a contrast with what you’d normally expect from a Defender.
Of course, when it comes to the final specification, there is a set of rules Skyfall Automotive follows for the sake of beauty and balance: while options are limitless, some of those can’t go together within their brand, as their Defenders must always be able to be described as tasteful.
While the Land Rover Defender vehicles built by Skyfall Automotive can look modern and even luxurious, they retain and even enhance their off-roading abilities so the proud owners can use their Defender as intended.
A hydraulic steering system, along with high-profile tires and an upgraded suspension make every Skyfall creation an aggressive looking machine which can be easily operated, and that can feel like riding on a cloud depending on how you’ve set it.
An insight into their bespoke craftsmanship can be seen through the gallery including a Pickup and a Hardtop Defender, providing us with more than enough dream-fuel to imagine our own.
For the time being Skyfall Automotive is available in Mexico and South America, and open to enter the US market in the near future, and they’re able to ship anywhere in the world.
When given a blank slate and no limits, how would you imagine your Defender would be?
