Demand hot for last Land Rover Defenders

The rush to get one of Land Rover's last Defenders has reached frenzied proportions as the company prepares to bring down the curtain on one of the great chapters in automotive history.

Production of the iconic, hard as nails, hose it out off roader is due to cease in October after almost 70 years of continuous construction, with more than 2 million vehicles produced over the years.

To commemorate the end, Land Rover has produced limited edition Heritage versions of the Defender 90 and 110, as well as a harder edged Adventure version of both vehicles.

Only 100 examples were allocated to Australia

Less than 5000 will be built for markets across the world, of which only 100 examples were allocated to Australia - but the company has managed to beg, borrow and steal another 30 vehicles, with dealers across the country clamouring for more.

One particular dealer in Northern Queensland wanted to take 80 of the vehicles alone, but was knocked back.

"All of the 130 have been snapped up the dealers many months ago and we expect all would have a name on them by now judging by the amount of phone calls we receive looking for an unsold version," a spokesman for Land Rover Australia said.

The Defender is Land Rover's military style vehicle, built tough to take drivers into some of the harshest environments in the world.

It was developed from the original Land Rover that went into production way back in 1948 and while it has continued to evolve over the years, it is a vehicle that remains true to the original concept.

Ironically, it is this formula that has been its death - it can simply no longer meet the safety requirements imposed on modern vehicles.

Land Rover is working on a replacement, but at this stage there is no date for its arrival.

The Defender is available in two and four-door versions of the car, the short wheelbase Defender 90 and long wheelbase Defender 110, with many variations over the years including a dual cab ute.

The numbers refer to the length in inches of the wheelbase, or distance between axles in other words.