SIX OF THE BEST
Morag Bootland tracks down six of Scotland’s most skilled and talented artisan designers, creators and entrepreneurs
Showcasing Scotland's top artisans, creatives and entrepreneurs
The Land Rover Defender is an automotive icon and since Jaguar Land Rover discontinued the fabulous 4x4 in 2016 they’ve become even more sought after. Father and son team Doug and Ben MacDowall realised that there was a market for customising these much-loved cars two and a half years ago and they’re now stripping down and rebuilding them from their base in Port Edgar, near Edinburgh.
‘Defenders have become so much more than just farm vehicles and it’s easy to change the look of them,’ says Doug. ‘They are like giant bits of meccano really, they can be very understated or they can have red leather throughout and giant wheels. The most expensive modification we’ve done at MOR so far cost around £56k.’
Like many fans of this farming workhorse, the MacDowall family has Defenders in its blood. ‘Both of Ben’s uncles and his grandfather had them,’ says Doug. ‘Ben always knew that he wanted one for his first car. He spent two years rebuilding it in our front garden.’
Their most outrageous modification to date involved a James Bond, Spectre-style vehicle with monster wheels, big roof rack and massive light bars. ‘There’s nobody else in Scotland doing this,’ says Doug. ‘We have to reach a certain level of modification for it to be a MOR Land Rover.’ Nothing gets overlooked.