The Defenders

Land Rover’s Iconic Defender Has Two Enthusiasts Defending It
 

- Anubhav Sharma

Mostly, when one meets anyone restoring older cars, it is at a fancy classic car show, an auction or a glitzy event organised by a car manufacturer. I met Daniel van Oort at a wedding in Amsterdam, one which was a formal black tie kind of a setting. Except, Daniel was dressed in shorts and a linen jacket. That wasn’t what made me notice him, though, it was an orange and black Defender 110 he drove in. Naturally, I went up to see the car and conversation followed. One that led me to Daniel’s workshop in North Amsterdam the next time I was in the Dutch capital.

Like most things involving passion, Daniel’s love affair with the Defender started because of a love story. His then girlfriend lived in South Africa and Daniel, along with his friend Peter Zeisser wanted to drive to South Africa from Amsterdam. The next logical step was to find a car to undertake the journey, something which didn’t cost a bomb and was easy to fix if it broke. The Defender fit the bill, literally and figuratively, and Daniel got one. Very soon, the trip became secondary and restoring the car took up all of Daniel and Peter’s time. So much so, ironically, that the relationship with the girlfriend had ended by the time the car was ready. But a new relationship had begun, one which continues stronger than ever till today.