Separated at Birth? Back when the Defender 90 SV was new, someone from our office managed to persuade Land Rover that it would be a good idea to let him pit one against his slightly knackered Series I on Solihull’s legendary Jungle Track
O
ne of the most remarkable features of the Land Rover is the amazing similarity between the very oldest examples and those rolling off the line all those decades later. Perhaps nowhere is this more visible than when comparing the Series I with the lifestyle special from 1993, the 90 SV. Crazy? Not quite. The standard Defender station wagon, whether in 90 or 110 form, features acres of plate glass and a stance that positively towers over the earliest models. But the SV, with its folded hood and roll cage, is distinctly reminiscent of all those black and white pictures you see of Land Rovers from the 1950s. Look through the gleaming new paint job and past the trendy upholstery, and a lot of Solihull traditions are there to be seen. So in many respects it still looks the same. But what about performance? Surely the new 90 would wipe the floor with earlier offerings, leaving only a glowing tail-light and glimpse of metallic green-over-blue? The answer? Give it a try. We happened to have a 2.0-litre 86” Series I from 1955 lying around, and
44 | AUGUST 2022
3.5pp VERSION. 90 SV v Series I.indd 44
the people at Land Rover happened to have a 90 SV that hadn’t yet been shipped off to the dealership that was presumably rubbing its hands
at the prospect of receiving it. It would be rude not to… Now, the people at Land Rover weren’t going to let the 90 out of
their sight. Not a problem, we’d take the Series I to them. They had the famous Jungle Track for us to play on, after all. But what was a bit of
4x4 05/07/2022 16:28
