This Restomod Shop Doesn't Just Restore Classic Defenders, They Build Them From Scratch

This is just the kind of work that happens at a little shop called Blackbridge Motors. In the cozy coastal town of Norwalk, Connecticut, this crack team of 20 or so wrenchers quite literally make V8-powered reproductions of first-generation Land Rover Defender 110s come to life with modern hardware under the hood, inside, and underneath, from the ground up, from scratch. That's on top of the standard restoration fare with genuine vintage Land Rovers that the team can also build for you.

We knew we had to sit down with the founder of perhaps the most ambitious restomod shop we've ever come across. Happily, just the man was on hand, and willing to give us some time in the driver's seat. Say hello to Scott Gilbert, the mastermind behind some of the most faithful vintage 4x4 reproductions ever to see the light of day in North America. In every way imaginable, his Blackbridge D110 Mark X is a better-mannered, more refined, and all-around better take on the classic 110 Defender.

"We started about eight years ago with the sole intent of modernizing and rehabilitating classic and vintage cars. But with a little bit of modern equipment so you can enjoy them in modern day driving and every day scenarios," Gilbert said of Blackbridge's humble and somewhat traditional approach to founding a restoration shop. Safe to say, Scott and his team are pretty far off the beaten path by this juncture.

"Well, we quickly realized that people started to ask that particular machine to do more and more. Drive longer, drive faster, stop better, handle better. What we also realized is that we were at a point in our business life cycle where we could start to be smart about incorporating thoughtful integration of classic components into modern cars." Long story short, Scott realized the Land Rover Defenders he'd been restoring were rapidly reaching the upper limits of what the chassis and drivetrain could accept as upgrades.

To meet demand, the solution necessitated ditching the vast majority of Land Rover hardware in favor of a chassis-up total reproduction that, from nearly all angles, looks like a mirror image of a Gen-I Defender 110.Suffice it to say, it wasn't an easy or expedient process by any means. It took some true-to-form, old-school engineering.

"It's an evolution. If you started from a sprint, I'm sure you could've done it quicker than we did. But it was a multi-year process," Gilbert said of the painstaking R&D that went into every nut and bolt of the world's first OEM-quality reproduction of the classic Defender. "In reality, it happens in stages. You start with systems and solve for breaking issues, fuel delivery issues, and things like that. As you start to mature and get smarter about what works and what doesn't, you can start to tackle larger systems like the chassis. Which is akin to the skeleton in your body. It's a relatively important, very impactful component that can really change the characteristics of a car."

With little more than just under two dozen full-time staff members and a handful of summer engineering interns, Blackbridge spent years building working relationships with outlets across two continents to provide the materials needed to manufacture 4x4s in the spitting image of a classic Defender. With a custom frame developed in tandem with the restomod juggernauts at the Roadster Shop in Illinois, this ultra high-end, laser-cut frame is a fitting foundation for the comfortable all-American V8 power under the hood. Add an entirely original steel body made from higher-quality sheet metal than the Land Rover Solihull plant had access to in the day, and the Blackbridge D110 Mark X is so much more than just a restomod. Coincidentally, this metal also comes from vendors in the UK.

It's the very essence of what makes an old Land Rover worth putting up with when they break, but with the components most susceptible to Murphy's law replaced with ones made of far sterner stuff. As Scott Gilbert put it himself, it's the result of a whole bunch of classic, old-school engineering by his team of engineers and technicians. "Merging everybody and getting everyone's input takes a little bit longer, but I think you get a really nice 360 view on what's smart to manufacture," Gilbert said of the special relationship between the core technician and engineering personnel in his manufacturing operation.

Keep in mind that Blackbridge doesn't have a team of hundreds of experts and a budget higher than some GDPs to bring the D110 Mark X to life. "You have to be honest about what your end result needs to be and look backward, which I think an OEM has the luxury of that budget and that size of the team to develop things that haven't been developed," Gilbert said. " We've got to take a little bit of that mindset with the recognition that we need to be grounded about what we can and can not accomplish. A lot of the design and engineering comes from being rooted in what works in existing formats. But, it is materially new, materially more capable than what came in the original format."

When you have to bridge the gap between 2024 and roughly the early-to-mid 1980s, there's plenty of ground to cover. But with a modern GM LT-based drivetrain with or without a supercharger, backed by Dynatrac Dana-based axles front and rear, plus a modern HVAC and stereo/infotainment system, this is a car you can absolutely daily-drive. You can't say the same about a legit classic Land Rover. It'd break down just far away enough from home to be a real pain in the ass.

"That is what we can do at our scale to replicate an OEM approach without being burdened with inventing everything," said Gilbert, emphasis on building EVERYTHING." We use a lot of what works. We use a lot of smart parts. We find ways to integrate those parts into the original format vehicle, and through that, we add a tremendous amount of value." In truth, Blackbridge rotates between different focal groups of 4x4s. Land Rovers happen to be the center of attention for the moment. In the future, the menu could call for anything from vintage Toyota Land Cruisers to classic Broncos.

But through it all, it's safe to say these Defender reproductions are bound to be a mainstay at Blackbridge for years to come. By engineering only items that add value to the overall package instead of detracting from it, Scott and his crew justify the nearly $300,000 price tag of his D110 Mark X platform with the pound-for-pound best driving experience it's possible to have in the classic Defender form factor. Truth be told, he has no problem finding buyers in his neck of the woods. "There's probably more classic Defenders between the Hamptons and Cape Cod than anywhere else in the United States, and the great thing about the platform is there's a lot of ways to add value. I think, quite frankly, it's a good-looking truck."

By fine-tuning the D110 Mark X to have all the looks of a Defender but all the V8 grunt of an LT engine, the platform is practically tailor-made for US consumers in a way the genuine item simply wasn't. Given what part of the world these are being sold, it makes sense that Blackbridge is doing better than ever these days. "Production schedules are about one and a half full builds a month. So, our target's about 18 a year," Gilbert said of the modest yet impressive production numbers out of such a small, humble shop."The only way we can do that is if you can focus on efficiencies in manufacturing. As much as we can be smart about the technology available to us, we will. The difficulty is finding out how to integrate it into this platform.”

Safe to say, Scott and the Blackbridge team achieved their goal and then some. Rest assured, the end results are nothing short of spectacular. Stay tuned for the full review of the Blackbridge D110 Mark X.