Timelines, pricing, warranty, historic registration, international delivery. The answers we give over WhatsApp every day, gathered here.
We're a family atelier specialised exclusively in the Land Rover Defender. We revive the car's iconic soul and layer in our touch of modern comfort — without losing what makes it singular. As a small family business we accompany the client from A to Z, and the delivery is always handed over in person, wherever in the world they are.
Our atelier is in Sabadell, on the outskirts of Barcelona — 30 minutes' drive from El Prat airport. The exact address is Carrer de Castellar del Vallès 34, 08208 Sabadell. Visits are always by appointment.
We restore around twelve Defenders a year. We keep that number deliberately low — it lets us invest the ~900 hours each car requires without cutting corners. Any more, and we'd be something else.
Yes, gladly. With notice we arrange a visit walking you through the full process step by step: the cars in progress, the materials, the finishes, the options available. It usually takes one to two hours, and it's the best way to understand what makes a Costa Defender different.
Because work done well is done in depth. The Defender has a very particular character — restoring one properly means knowing every vibration, every part, every mechanical quirk. We've spent years specialising, and that's exactly what a client wants when they commission a Costa Defender: the certainty that the hands touching their car have touched dozens before.
Between seven and ten months, depending on model and specification. A Defender 90 takes around seven months; a 110 Station Wagon up to ten. We run several cars in parallel, but each progresses at its own pace — quality never gets rushed.
Around nine hundred hours of manual work per car — the equivalent of one technician working flat out for six months. That time is split across chassis, mechanics, bodywork, paint, upholstery, electronics and road testing.
The three classic Defender variants: 90 Hard Top, 90 Soft Top and 110 Station Wagon. For other configurations from the historic Defender catalogue, write to us first — we assess case by case.
Both. If you already own a Defender, we use it as the base — provided the chassis and numbers match and the history is verifiable. If not, we find the exact donor you need: we source it, verify it, acquire it, bring it to the workshop. The donor phase is, in fact, one of the most carefully handled parts of the process.
Yes, and it's one of the parts our clients enjoy most. Beyond staying in direct contact, we send you photos, videos and time-lapses from the workshop as the car advances. A visual update reaches you every week. It turns the waiting into part of the experience.
From A to Z. Every Defender is built from scratch, so practically everything is customisable: bespoke paint, genuine or premium technical materials, yacht-grade woods (teak, resin, blends), audio tuned by engineers, forged wheels, suspension, engine, transmission. No reasonable limits — only what's advisable or not for the character of the car, and we guide you on that.
The three main engines we work with are the 200 Tdi, 300 Tdi and Td5 — the most reliable and characterful of the classic Defender. The 200 Tdi and 300 Tdi also allow the car to be registered as a historic vehicle, unlocking tax and circulation advantages in several countries. We help you choose based on intended use (road, off-road, city, long-distance touring) and the car's final destination.
Yes. We work with this possibility specifically in mind. The Defenders we deliver can be registered as historic vehicles in Spain, France, Belgium, Italy, Portugal — and with the appropriate adaptation also in the United States or South America. The key technical condition is the engine: a 200 Tdi or 300 Tdi enables historic registration in most European jurisdictions.
Yes. In fact every Defender leaves our atelier with the ITV (Spanish technical inspection) already passed — it's how we guarantee everything is in order before the car reaches its owner. When you later renew the inspection in another country, the criteria are usually less strict than Spain's, so renewal is straightforward.
Every client receives a technical report of over 50 pages signed by an official engineer — the documentation backing every modification we make. The car leaves homologated and with ITV in order, so there are no surprises down the line. Having repeated the process dozens of times, we know exactly what can be modified legally and what can't, and we design the car within those limits from the start.
Yes. Historic registration usually includes the right to enter low-emission zones (Madrid Central, Barcelona ZBE, Italian ZTLs) that would be off-limits to a conventional car of the same age. In several countries the tax treatment — road tax, insurance, tolls — is also markedly more favourable for historic vehicles.
Yes — we deliver Defenders to any corner of the world. So far we've shipped cars to the UK, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, France, Andorra, the United Arab Emirates, and to clients in the United States and South America. Every final delivery is handed over in person — a Costa team member travels with the car, hands it over and walks the client through every maintenance detail.
We work with partners specialised in homologation and registration in each region. Within Europe, starting from Spanish plates and a valid ITV, the process is relatively straightforward — European homologation is among the strictest in the world, so the rest is usually a formality. For the US, MENA or South America, we connect you with the partner that best fits your case and supply all the necessary technical documentation.
Transport runs by road within Europe and by sea container for more distant destinations.
Formally the client, as these depend on your fiscal residency and personal documents. But we never leave you alone: the car leaves with all European paperwork in order, which simplifies the process enormously, and we accompany you with technical information and local contacts to keep it as fluid as possible.
Yes, no problem. We work in both left-hand drive (LHD) and right-hand drive (RHD) — the configuration is set at the start of the project, depending on where the car is heading.
From €150,000 for a Defender 90 and from €180,000 for a Defender 110. The price depends on specification — materials, finishes, engine, extra equipment. We agree a signed budget before starting, and from then on it doesn't change.
Payment is split across four milestones, tied to the car's real progress:
We never ask for money for work that hasn't been done.
We don't offer direct financing. Our four-milestone payment plan spread across the 7-10 months of the project effectively staggers the outlay. If you need a specific financial solution, we can point you toward institutions specialised in classic vehicles.
Every car leaves with a signed one-year warranty on restored components. All components are new and premium-grade — we don't cut corners on material, because the car's comfort and reliability depend on it.
If something fails within that year and you're far from Barcelona, we commit to finding a solution: we have partners in several countries we can ship the car to, and if you'd rather use your usual trusted workshop, our technical team speaks directly with your mechanic to guide them. WhatsApp support is for life — our clients remain our clients.
Servicing a restored Defender is straightforward — it can be done at any trusted workshop that handles classic vehicles. If you're in Europe and would rather we look at it, you can bring it in (or ship it back) to the atelier, where we tune it and give it a full service.
Positively. By preserving the matching chassis and original engine number, a Costa Defender keeps its historical character and traceability — two things the classic market values more every year. That said, we don't talk about these cars as an investment: they're built to be used, to be lived in, to clock kilometres. But materially, it's a good place to put your money.
The first step is simple: an email, a WhatsApp, or a message on Instagram. Our team responds quickly — usually within 48 hours you can have your slot reserved. The first conversation runs through whichever channel suits you best, with no commitment.
Typically between seven and eight months — but because we run several cars in parallel, no time is wasted on your project once it begins. Sometimes the wait is a bit longer, sometimes a bit shorter, depending on the moment. It's always worth writing: we'll tell you on the spot where the calendar really stands.
Write to us directly. We answer personally — in hours, not days — and with no forms in between.