There was a spell, around a quarter of a century ago, when Land Rover Defender buyers had a choice of engines. For a brief moment, to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 1998, Solihull even did one with an auto gearbox.

But throughout the 67 years the Defender and its predecessors have been on sale, the main choices have been defined by the work your Landy’s going to do. For more than 20 years, it’s been one engine, one box – and three wheelbases, plus no end of body options.

And that’s just the beginning. Throughout its history, Land Rover has been collaborating with specialist companies to build extreme versions of its vehicles. Ranging from ambulances to self-propelled welders, Land Rovers have answered pretty much every question a person has ever asked of a car. For example, check out this little lot…

SAS Series II ‘Pink Panther’

The British Army has always been Land Rover’s biggest customer, ever since it first tested Solihull’s then-new 80” Series I in the early postwar years. Our Boys have driven all sorts – but the real hard nuts in the SAS liked their Landies in pink.

Desert camo, you see. Hence the long-wheelbase Series IIAs known as Pink Panthers, which The Regiment would take out on patrols lasting up to a month and a half.

That’s a long time for three blokes to be living out of their car, but the Pinkie was up to it. Specially adapted for the huge weight they had to bear, they were bristling with guns, equipped with everything their crew needed and carried 100 gallons of fuel.

Decades later, the Army was still using specially adapted Defenders. But ask any military Landy fan, and it’s the Pinkie that’ll make him go misty eyed.

Dredd Shed

Not an official name, you understand. The 101 Forward Control was another military motor, built from 1972 and used as an ambulance, comms wagon and gun tractor. Once demobbed, they became popular with enthusiasts – many of whom saw their potential for being turned into overland expedition trucks.

But then in 1995, a small batch were converted into film props, starring alongside Sly Stallone in Judge Dredd. The idea was that Land Rover was the only make of vehicle to have survived that far into the future, .

After filming was complete, most of the vehicles were either sold on or turned back into 101s. A very small number even managed to become road-registered.

Esarco 8x8

If four-wheel drive is good, eight-wheel drive must be twice as good. That was the premise behind the Escarco, a go-anywhere truck based on Defender mechanicals.

With a counter-steering back axle, the Esarco 8x8 was a clever machine indeed. The company created a 6x6 model too, and it caused enough of a stir for firms on both sides of the Atlantic to buy options on the manufacturing rights. But maybe it was too clever (and therefore expensive) for its own good, because it was never actually put into production.

Roadless Traction ‘Forest Rover’

If you get stuck, get bigger tyres. That’s what off-roaders have been doing ever since off-roading was invented. But no one did it quite like the Roadless Traction company, who built this monumental Series II for the Forestry Commission.

Problem was, standard Landies kept getting bogged down on forestry duty. Hence the Forest Rover, which was fitted with tractor tyres.

The front axle had to be 14” wider, so drivers could actually steer the thing, and reduction gears were necessary to cope with their vast height as the vehicle kept its original engine and transmission.

The Forest Rover was more than a one-trick pony. As well as being far more capable in bogs and swamps, its extra width made it surprisingly stable over extremely uneven terrain. Twenty were built in total, with a few surviving today in private collections.