Charles Fawcett negotiated a 14.8 percent discount to bulk order Land Rover Defenders before production ended

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Land Rover’s decision to axe the classic Defender didn’t just lead to the creation of the Ineos Grenadier, but it also presented an incredible investment opportunity for Charles R. Fawcett, who owns Twisted Automotive.

Knowing that the iconic Defender was being killed off and replaced by an all-new model, he made a massive gamble and placed an order for 240 of them, believing he could then modify them and sell them for huge markups.

A Deal Struck on Trust

Fawcett had a close relationship with Land Rover when the impending end of Defender production was announced, and was eager to order as many as he could. As he didn’t have the money to buy 240 Defenders outright, he reached an agreement with the automaker to pay for them on delivery.

In addition, he negotiated a 14.8 percent discount for the bulk order, meaning he paid approximately £22,600 ($30,600) for each vehicle, totaling £5,424,000 ($7.3 million). In total, 239 Defenders were delivered.

Read: This Defender Looks Vintage Until You Step On The Pedal

While Twisted likely could have left these Defenders completely stock and flipped them for a profit, Fawcett decided his company would customize and overhaul each of them, catering to the burgeoning restomod market.

Initially, the Defenders modified by Twisted were being sold for between £70,000 ($95,000) and £90,000 ($122,000), but now, Fawcett says they’re typically sold for between £180,000 ($244,000) and £320,000 ($433,000).

The Twisted Recipe

“The bit that gets missed in the middle is that we also put 1,500 hours into every single build. That’s 1,500 hours of labour using parts, components and processes developed over 25 years,” Fawcett told LADbible.

“It really is an extraordinary level of craftsmanship and attention to detail that justifies the premium price point, but it was still a huge risk. Ultimately, we build something no one needs but the desire for it is huge. Having that stock of vehicles has enabled the business to grow over the nine year period since production ended and in those nine years we will have turned well over in excess of £50 million.”

Twisted says it’s now down to the last 21 or 22 Defenders, and once they’re gone, there will be no replacing them. So, if you want a delivery-mileage Defender that was one of the last off the production line and which has been extensively modified, you’d better get in your order.