With the Land Rover Defender being the ultimate go-anywhere vehicle, it only makes sense that some are built to take on certain terrains with a certain love of grace and accessories. Some are built to be true luxury SUVs, while others are built to pound the dunes internationally. The U.S. has some pretty amazing beaches, and we’ve built quite a few Defenders fully capable of getting the wind and surf in your hair as you cruise down your favorite beach. Spring and summer are right around the corner, so here are our top 5 beach cruising custom Defenders.

Project CL

Project CL made headlines in several publications (Drivetribe, Classic Cars) this fall as the ultimate Defender turned beach cruiser. The custom Defender’s Arles blue color and sand-toned interior make it the perfect reflection of where the ocean waves meet the beach. With its canvas convertible top off, Project CL is ready to don your surfboard, park in a lovely spot with a view on the beach (thanks to its bigger wheels and smooth drive performance setup), and pull you into the beach cruiser lifestyle.
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Project Family Vacation

Simply looking at this build’s name is a dead giveaway that it’s ready for any family-style vacation, including the beach! Project Family Vaca, as we affectionately call it, is a nostalgic looking D90 that is not only fun to drive but stunning to look at. Its manual transmission, wooden steering wheel, and removable canvas top add charm to its classic British Racing Green color and warm interior. One of this build’s best custom features is its removable NAS doors that can be swapped for custom tubular beach doors, making it the perfect cruiser for taking family out to catch some fun in the sun.
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Project Hampton

It’s not often that E.C.D. gets to install a convertible top on one of our custom Defender 110 builds. It’s even less often we get a build with full bench seating from the middle to the rear. This is what makes Project Hampton the ultimate friends and family beach cruiser! Its fully removable top is perfect for allowing all ten people sitting in this custom Defender (yes, 10!) to feel the breeze coming off the waves. With the full bench seating, there’s room for sand buckets and all the other beach toys to make this beach trip with friends and family one to remember!
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Project Kutter

Project Kutter, as another publication called out, is anything but a cookie “kutter” build. It’s a beautiful Cool Gray Khaki color that looks almost baby blue, matching its soft navy blue leather interior with custom Diagonal Weave “Tuxedo” Inserts. The custom D90 has a ton of custom features, from its silver exterior accessories to its fully custom-built teak flooring in the rear bed. Teak being a wood ideal for wet climates and Project Kutter having four rear jump seats, this little D90 makes for a great cruise through the beach for a family or vacation party of 6.
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Project Alpine Yeti

Out of all the builds on our list for Top Defender Beach Cruisers, Project Alpine Yeti is the rarest of them all. This NAS D110 is one of only a handful and has mostly all of its original exterior components kept in miraculous condition. The build was brought to us by a client with the hopes of being overhauled, giving it another chance at life on the road (or the beach!). It has one feature in particular that makes it a pretty special build when it comes to water, and that’s its original snorkel. Yes, this rare NAS D110 was built to take on water with a rare snorkel feature that allows it to be submerged underwater much further than most modern SUVs. This could make trips to private or spring water beaches a truly fun time; just imagine riding through the water!
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Which of these custom Defender 110 builds would you be taking on a beach cruising vacation? Ready to start your dream beach cruiser custom Defender build? Get in touch at [email protected].