Kahn-do Attitude
LRM has a chat with coachbuilder Afzal Kahn and samples his latest offerings
Kahn Design turn heads with their take on Land Rovers. We meet the man behind the creations
While Bradford might be famous for a number of things – such as its many museums, shops, Michelin-starred restaurants, parks and UNESCO sites, as the editor of a Land Rover magazine, I'm only interested in one thing when I visit that part of Yorkshire. For those that haven't guessed, it is the coachbuilder and proudly British Defender fan, Afzal Kahn of Kahn Design.
Upon arrival at their HQ I notice that there are other vehicles besides Land Rovers that have received the Kahn Design treatment, including a Mercedes-benz G Class G350 BLUETEC G6, which is now wearing a wide body kit. There is also a Jeep Wrangler that has been transformed into a Black Hawk Edition by the Chelsea Truck Company, one of several companies within Kahn Design. It is the kind of vehicle you expect a no-nonsense individual to be driving. There are also Ferraris and Aston Martins knocking about, but before I get too carried away, I remind myself that we are here today to see Land Rovers.
After our second cup of coffee we are allowed to enter the Kahn inner sanctum. Afzal is dressed to impress, and he certainly wouldn't look out of place welcoming us to one of his London-based showrooms on Kings Road in Chelsea or on Kensington High Street, which of late has become a haven for connoisseurs of automotive couture.
Anyway back to Bradford, I'm curious as to what Kahn gets out of his business. “It’s more of a hobby for me. Car manufacturers need to do facelift models every year or so, we don’t have that problem, we just improve them. We view ourselves as game changers and trend setters. If it was not for my wild and out-there ideas at the Geneva Motor Show a couple of years ago, then there would not be a top-end Defender market left. I will always produce them and will take the Defender to my grave with me."
As the owner of a fairly standard Defender and obviously
a big Defender fan, I find it incredible how something that is no longer produced is still able to spawn such an emotive following and very active market.
This probably explains why Jaguar Land Rover recently announced that they will be producing 150 V8-powered Defenders (see p.16). JLR are now competing in a market where previously independents such as Afzal reigned. I ask Afzal how this makes him feel?
“I respect what they do, but I have been at the forefront of automotive fashion for over 20 years and you only have to see the latest valuations from CAP, experts in vehicle valuation. The latest analysis shows a considerable uplift in the residual value of the Chelsea Truck Company Land Rover Defender variants.
"One such example is The End edition. It is worth a staggering 40 per cent more compared to the CAP Black Book value of the standard Defender model upon which it is based. The data speaks for itself."
I move the conversation on and ask his thoughts on the new Defender, which we will probably be seeing this year for the first time. “If you look at what Land Rover are currently building and producing, then the new Defender will probably be too posh to mess about with. Saying that, I can’t wait to see what they have done with its successor.”
Two of Afzal’s builds that have received a lot of social media attention of late are the Flying Huntsman Defender 6x6 and Defender Cabrio 6x6. Is this a direct swipe at similar Mercedes-benz 6x6 products?
“People ask why build a 6x6 Defender? 6x6 vehicles have been around forever and they will be about until we start driving about in spaceships. We have an infinite supply of vehicles from which to build our 6x6 Defenders. You can armour them for military use and re-configure the interior so that they carry nine people.
“I now see myself as a serious coachbuilder. We are not tuners, I leave that to some of the other players in the market.”
Afzal has promised us a Sunday test drive through London in a 6x6, and I will definitely hold him to that. For now we settle for a play about in his bold-looking X-lander Evoque and a Defender 110 XS double cab pick-up Chelsea Wide Track. Both retail for just under £60,000. I ask Afzal what inspired the Evoque makeover.
“I have been inspired by events such as the Dakar Rally and the idea was to build a luxury car that you can throw about. I have identified a new generation of customers; those that don’t want a classic or a Defender, but rather something that looks as if it was used in the latest Mad Max movie. I’ve taken it into the mountains and thanks to the decent Coopers tyres, it was unstoppable. It took me 12 months to create this Evoque. I am pretty happy with the outcome and believe that it will do well for us.”
When the Evoque first came out in 2011 I took one for a jaunt around the Kalahari. In fact, we drove it on the same salt pans that Project Bloodhound will attempt to drive at 1000 mph. While it did pretty well in the sand, probably due to its weight, I was left a little underwhelmed.
The X-lander Evoque however, certainly has a more aggressive presence than a factory-spec model. Afzal and his team have made over 20 changes to the standard version. His canvas for the project was a 2017 Evoque 2.0 TD4 SE Tech which already included some pretty impressive features such as permanent 4WD, Terrain Response, Hill Descent Control, Hill Start Assist and In Control Touch.
As I get into it I straight away notice a couple of Afzal’s enhancements. The first is obviously the seat that I am now sitting in, which has been re-upholstered in black Herringbone leather. The interior leather upgrades do not stop there: as the armrests, door tops, glovebox and dashboard are all covered in the black stuff.
Everywhere I look and everything I touch tells me that this is a Kahn creation. The Kahn gear selector and the Kahn logo on the vented foot pedals that are machined in aluminium remind me a little of the Range Rover Svautobiography that I drove up to Scotland.
Mechanically there are no enhancements, though once I take a walk around the X-lander I am able to see more of the tasty embelishments. It really is incredible what a difference matt black RS alloy wheels make with proper off-road tyres – in this case the Cooper Discoverer All Terrains.
This X-lander has received a new paint job, too: a combination of satin black, which slices down the middle, and gloss black either side. The wheel arches have been extended and the new front and rear bumpers are vented.
I do like the twin crosshairs on the ends of the new stainless steel exhaust system. They remind me of days spent on the rifle range.
The other Kahn creation that we had the chance to take for a short drive around the streets of Bradford was the Defender XS 110 Double Cab Pick Up Chelsea Wide Track. I have a friend who built an expedition truck and then put a Kahn wide body kit onto it. This Chelsea Wide Track was a little different to my mate’s truck. The first thing I notice is the slightly squarer raised roof front with integrated lights. It's also painted in what they term Volcanic Rock Satin and I must say that with the wheel extensions it does have a rather cool road presence. The two inch lift, 9x16 Satin Black Defend 68 wheels shod in chunky Coopers tyres might also have something to do with it.
The interior of the Defender is a far cry from the cloth seats and basic gubbins of my 20-year-old steed. Despite the fact that the interior might look like the business class section of an aeroplane, once you get into the white Sports GTB seats trimmed in Portland quilted Leather and grab the shiny Satin Silver Kahn billet steering wheel, it feels great.
There is more leather in this interior than at a tannery and as a result it certainly smells better than my leaky Defender. It has the same foot pedals as the X-lander and the similarities don’t stop there. The glove box has the same white leather as the seats while the door cards are covered in black hide. You won’t be afraid of showing up in this for a high society event though it does feel too posh for the chase scene in the latest Bond movie.
As I climb out of the Defender and hand back the keys I stop to take one final look at the truck. While it is a Defender in name, it looks nothing like mine. The front has been radically transformed with the new bumper which has integrated daytime running lights and shadow chrome headlights. The X-lander front grille is also very different but it helps it to look tougher. In comparison I have an ARB bullbar on mine so that if I hit a wildebeest at 70 mph the show can go on.
And that to me is the great thing about Defenders. They are so versatile: you can style them up, kit them out as workhorses or just use them as they come out of the box. Afzal is more than just a coachbuilder; he's an automotive fashion designer and sees the road as his catwalk – creating stylish Land Rovers that have top end appeal.
Put simply, Kahn Land Rovers are an extension of Afzal. Now I can’t wait to drive that 6x6 through the posh streets of London.