Driven: 2024 Blackbridge D110 Mark X – The Classic Defender 110 Reborn With an LT V8

In their little shop near the shores of the Long Island Sound in Norwalk, Connecticut, Blackbridge's halo project is building one-to-one scale complete replicas of first-generation 110-series Land Rover Defenders, which, at least from the outside, look just about identical to the real ones. But you won't find failure-prone English hardware under the hood, inside, or outside. Thanks to clever R&D, even more clever engineering, and a little help from the number one name in aftermarket performance chassis, the Blackbridge D110 Mark X is the purest essence of a vintage Defender. Only this time, all the wonky English parts are absent and replaced with the finest materials available.

As the brainchild of Blackbridge's lead designer, Scott Gilbert, The D110 Mark X represents an altogether different type of custom 4x4. It's not a restoration, nor a restomod. It's just its own thing. That's reason numero uno we were fascinated as soon as Scott reached out with the offer of a test drive. Across the coastal backroads in and around Norwalk, there was nothing but smiles when I climbed out of the driver's seat after my test drive. But that's the end of the story, not the beginning. The saga begins at Blackbridge's state-of-the-art production facility and showroom.

Here, a D110 painted in a striking Beluga Black on the exterior and an Opal Weiss leather interior waited with the keys in the ignition for us to test for ourselves. On first impressions alone, there's almost nothing that visually distinguishes this recreation from the genuine item from Solihull, England. From nearly all angles, it looks like the exact same truck you would've bought brand new somewhere in the British Isles in the early-to-mid 1980s. This is a notion advanced even further when you pull the decidedly retro-feeling door handle that could've only been inspired by the era of hair metal, 8-bit game consoles, and Thatcher riding horses with Reagan.

The driving position might be a little awkward at first, as the foot well naturally leaves your left foot leaning left towards the crook of the door panel rather than deep into the recess in the foot well as normal. This might be a bit off putting at first, but then you start to notice how nice and plush the leather seats feel as you sit in them. Blackbridge goes to great lengths to supply their leather from OEM-quality vendors, a trait you notice as soon as your backside sinks into that supple, soft seat bottom.

As your eyes scan their way across the cabin, the funky eight-seater arrangement with twin rows of two parallel jump seats in the rear is perhaps the most striking aspect of the interior. With a classic thin-rimmed wooden steering wheel complete with metal stud motifs and gauges modeled to look like original Land Rover Defender dials, there's an eclectic mix of old and new styling cues and build materials going on inside the cabin of this beast. It's all brought together with a Sony center infotainment screen connected to a stereo that's a far cry from what you would've gotten in the 80s.

All in all, this is a pretty awesome interior to spend time in. Fitting, considering the hardware underneath. With a wholly bespoke chassis built in collaboration with the restomod gurus at the Roadster Shop in Illinois sporting laser-cut rails, Dynatrac Dana 44 and Dana 60 front and rear axle, respectively, the foundation of this rig is nothing short of beefy. Add on an Advanced Adapters ATLAS-series two-speed transfer case, and in-house developed multi-link suspension setups in the front and back with Fox Racing shocks; you know the D110 Mark X is built to handle big power from the factory. Even the sheet metal out of which the body is built is just as high a quality, if not higher, than what Land Rover had on hand in the 80s and 90s.

In the case of our test unit for the day, that power comes in the form of a 6.2-liter naturally-aspirated GM LT1 V8 that you would've found in the C7 Corvette Stingray and the SS and LT1 variants of the sixth-generation Chevy Camaro. With 455 horsepower to work with and paired to an eight-speed GM automatic transmission, this is the kind of drivetrain built for thrills but can also be a reliable daily driver when you need it to be. Of course, you can always opt for a Tremec six-speed manual transmission if you opt to build a D110 Mark X from scratch. Still, most are liable to be sold as automatics. You can also opt for a supercharged LT4 engine with 650 horses if you're really crazy.

Once the awkward foot positions are accounted for, a turn of the key brings the engine to life, and you're immediately greeted by Blackbridge Motor's in-house developed sports exhaust kit. While great for young hot-shots, it might be a little overwhelming for older folks, as Scott Gilbert himself expressed on our drive. But around cramped parking lots and slow-winding backroads, it's hard to believe just how well-mannered and docile this custom truck is when you aren't trying to thrash it.

In standard, everyday Norwalk traffic, right in the New York City metro area, this machine was just as comfortable as it would be ripping across woodland trails with your BFGoodrich KO2 all-terrain tires. For such aggressive and chunky tires, the road noise generated is pretty much next to nothing. Then again, the sound of the performance exhaust might also be a contributing factor. Even at more exuberant driving speeds, it was simply shocking how well this nearly 6,000-lb machine holds its immense weight around corners, stops well thanks to Brembo brakes and a Wilwood master cylinder, and turns heads with its exhaust note all at the same time. The ride and handling might not be modern SUV smooth, but it gets closer than any 80s 4x4 has any right approaching.

All the while, you'll find yourself reaching around and probing the interior of this Blackbridge Defender recreation. To your delight, you'll find that nearly every square inch of what's visible or within reach in the cockpit is lined with the same plush leather, polished wood, and shiny metal. Quite a far cry from the interior of a modern Defender 110. But then again, that combination of modern refinements with the feeling of a classic is the reason this reproduction is nearly three times the price of even the most powerful and best-equipped of its brand-new descendants.

Of course, plenty of modern 4x4s were sharing the road with us that day. There are probably more Defenders, G-Wagens, and high-end Jeeps and Broncos between here and the Hamptons than perhaps anywhere else on the continent, by Scott's own admission. But is any modern 4x4 even remotely as eye-catching or special as a Blackbridge Defender tribute? If the head turns we saw on the street were anything to go by, the answer is just a flat no. Even the Ineos Grenadier, a modern English 4x4 ostensibly inspired by the original Land Rover Defender, seems more like a tribute act than a genuine recreation by comparison. That's one area where Blackbridge's offering pays dividends in spades.

And remember, the vast selection of exterior and interior trim packages, paint choices, bumper and winch options, wheels, tires, lighting, and seating arrangements guarantees no two examples look exactly alike. Knowing how much R&D went into making such a wondrous chimera of old and new paradigms work together harmoniously makes the achievement all the more impactful. But how much is a fully re-engineered Defender tribute, complete with modern creature comforts and American V8 power, worth to you?

Is a starting MSRP of $289,950 before taxes, fees, and optional upgrades a reasonable price? If you've been paying attention, that's the bare minimum a custom build of this quality needs to sell for to maintain profitability. Considering that Blackbridge will celebrate its tenth birthday sooner rather than later, it's safe to say the asking price is actually great value for the money, considering how much you get for the coin. That counts for double because, unlike most restomods or restoration jobs, you can drive this machine daily without fear of it breaking down.

For this reason, the only appropriate score is a bonafide five stars out of five. Because nowhere else on Planet Earth can you have a driving experience quite like this one, besides stopping through Norwalk to visit Scott and his team. From start to finish, this was nothing short of one of the greatest classic 4x4 experiences we've ever encountered. For a team of just 20 people, it's an achievement that even an OEM manufacturer can appreciate.