The Ares Defender V8 Longroof Is A Giantic Big Toy

Summary

• ARES Modena’s Defender V8 is a luxurious and highly exclusive restomod Land Rover, with impeccable quality and world-class craftsmanship.
• The Defender V8 Longroof offers a surprisingly enjoyable driving experience, combining modern SUV dynamics with off-road capabilities.
• While the ARES Defender is difficult to obtain and requires deep pockets, it stands out in the quarter-million-plus SUV market with its unique design and customization options.

You wouldn’t think I’d be scared to drive an oversize Land Rover Defender. It’s smaller than most full-size pickups, but you don’t get full-sized pickups in the hilltowns outside ARES Modena’s Italian headquarters. And as expensive as full-size pickups can be, they’re not hand-built, fully custom and made-to-order rigs starting at $300,000. So when ARES threw me the keys and said to follow the Alfa Stelvio Quadrifoglio lead car down a steep hairpin bordered by ancient stone walls and incredulous locals, all I could think about was how very expensive this could get, very fast.

The ARES Defender V8 (the company uses several names in their marketing) is part of ARES Modena’s eclectic lineup, which includes custom motorcycles, restomods, and fully hand-built supercars. Amazingly, even at well north of a quarter-million dollars, the Defender is the company’s most accessible four-wheeled “production” model, although with most of ARES’ vehicles capped at a run of 24, it’s a relative term.

Describing the modifications to the donor Defender would be an article of its own. Highlights include aluminum and carbon fiber body panels, a GM V-8 transplant, optional panoramic glass roof, new rear body work, and complete made-to-order custom interior. All the body and interior work is done in-house at the spotless factory in Modena, part of Italy’s famed Motor Valley.

I drove the Defender Longroof for part of one day through the Italian countryside, and did not perform an extended review or any testing. All specifications are provided by the manufacturer. For detailed insight into testing procedures and data collection, please review
our methodology policy
.

ARES Defender First Impressions

“We want to be the Hermès of the automotive world,” ARES CEO Dany Bahar told me. ARES sources older 110s (which is a challenge in itself with a dwindling supply), and makes an effort to “keep iconic Defefender elements.” At the same time, there is no off the shelf model: “Each one is custom finished,” said Head of Design Gianluca Cordua. As opposed to the very serious Panther ProjettoUnoand S1, Gianluca said the Longroof “is our vision of a gigantic big toy.”

It’s definitely all of those things. Adding that much roof—and height—makes this an imposing vehicle. With a lift and chunky tires, it’s tall, but more than that, the new roof and rear area make it feel imposing and massive, even more of a house-on-wheels feeling than you get from a Suburban or an Expedition Max. Not even a G-wagen (or a Suburban) has this kind of presence.

I would honestly be surprised if that one did not match the interior of one of the owner’s yacht

As each interior is custom designed for each build, there’s no typical model. The one I drove was done in a sort of King Ranch-meets-Audi TT full leather treatment, several herds’ worth, with real carbon fiber in most other places. A cabrio softtop model on display had a Herreshoff-inspired two-tone leather and fabric interior with piano lacquer accents…and constrasting laminated wood footwells. I would honestly be surprised if that one did not match the interior of one of the owner’s yachts.

Exterior Dimensions

Driving Impressions And Performance

ARES Modena has done a wonderful job buttoning down this beast. It drives exactly like a modern SUV, with tight steering and very controlled body motions. It helps to have proper bucket seats with thick thigh bolsters, and the handmade glove leather seats in the Longroof had enough side and thigh bolstering to keep me in place.

The basic ergonomics are Land Rover 110, which is fine. Visibility is excellent, and the seating position is commanding and comfortably upright. As with ARES’ other vehicles, the Defender mostly has the sort of production I’d expect from a series production high-end car, like a Rolls-Royce, and with the engine transplant, it’s probably more dependable than the original.

It goes fast, if that’s what you want, rides nice, doesn’t creak or rattle, and is predictable in the corners. Attempting vainly to keep up with the pilot car, I got it up to speeds that would get you blue lights from the Polizia di Stato (and maybe one of their Lamborghinis) on any autostrada and proved that it would do comfortable highway speeds on any highway in the world. Which is good, because sometimes you need to get from Monaco to your chalet in Geneva in a hurry.

I doubt many, if any, buyers are picking these up for daily transportation. ARES really has built some of these to match a superyacht, to be used specifically to transport people to the dock and back. Other customers include exclusive clubs in the Middle East, which, again, use them as hotel shuttles. The average private owner, if you can average under two dozen buyers, is almost certainly keeping one at a vacation home for occasional use.

Braking And Acceleration

An OHV V-8 out of quad sidepipes is always going to sound good, and there’s a sweet bark and burble at startup. It’s fun to walk around this thing when it’s idling with that sound coming from underneath it. ARES, while it doesn’t want to call itself a performance car company, is an Italian car company, and 380 horsepower with 383 pound-feet of torque is probably appropriate grunt. Again, if you want more, ARES would undoubtedly drop in any other species of GM smallblock, up to the 525 horsepower LS376s.

Brakes are modest 10-inch discs with six-piston calipers, and had no issue bringing down the Longroof’s undisclosed but substantial weight in a hurry. Which I needed to, repeatedly, because: Windy country roads. I can’t imagine why anyone would choose a Defender V8 Longroof with that sort of driving in mind, but you can do it, which is a comfort when thinking about emergency maneuvers.

Performance Specifications

ARED Defender Fuel Economy

ARES did not disclose and no buyer would care about fuel economy, but there’s no world where hurling this brick around at the high speeds I enjoyed would yield double-digit miles per gallon. Or even kilometers per gallon. I once saw 4 MPG on the dash readout of an SRT-10 Ram during performance testing and while it’s not going to be that climate-altering, I was probably only doubling that number. Cruise around at 45 MPH, and you could probably achieve 15 MPG, which is comparable to real-world numbers from any other big V-8 SUV or truck.

Interior Design And Comfort

Each V8 Defender is a reflection of its owner, and decisions made with ARES’ design department. An owner can be as involved or removed from the process as they wish, but ARES says most owners really enjoy and get deep into the customization process. This particular example had two front buckets, a three abreast third row (in carbon-fiber seat shells), and safari-style rear jump seats.

Everything inside feels (and smells) wonderful. I visited ARES’ extensive leather department (twice, I had to go back to see more), and the company is extremely serious about using only top-quality hides—I think these seats were full-grain leather, they certainly felt like it. All the other carbon fiber inserts are also made in-house, and there are basically no surfaces not covered by something nice, including a suede—not Alcantara—headliner. Even the steering wheel is a custom-made ARES piece.

…comparable to what you’d find at Hermès

When I toured the factory, I saw people inspecting carbon fiber trim pieces, which are all made in house, inch-by-inch in between polishing steps, and the large, bustling leather shop has got to be comparable to what you’d find at Hermès. It’s hard to convey how much custom work there is: Aside from a couple of HVAC knobs and maybe the seatbelts, it is a full custom interior, and ARES would gladly install the belts of your choice if that floats your boat.

Everything you touch, look at, and smell, inside the ARES Defender is impeccable. There is just enough character in the stitching to tell it’s done by hand, but there are zero mistakes. You get the sense this would wear in like a baseball glove or a Berluti loafer, slowly and gracefully around the owner for whom it was designed.

Technology And Ease Of Use

While the custom carbon-surround gauge cluster is the same across V8 Defenders, and some accessory buttons are reused from the Land Rover, nothing else is. My tester had a full leather dash with an eight-inch multimedia screen and conventional HVAC contriols; while one of the softtops (below) had a presumably 3D printed* center console and door panels, more traditional wheel, wood inserts, and even different vent placement. There is no standard interior.

*This being ARES, they were more likely painted carbon fiber, or machined billet alloy, or carved from the heart of a dying star.

Defender V8 Longroof Vs. Its Competitors

Your choices in the quarter-million-plus full-size SUV arena are limited. ARES Defender buyers are likely to be cross-shopping the Rolls-Royce Cullinan/Bentley Bentayga cousins, Lamborghini Urus, and maybe Ferrari Purosangue, although the Italian neighbors are smaller and much more performance-oriented (and with customization, even more expensive). An Ineos Grenadier is available in a lot of markets now, but is a very agricultural vehicle and maxes out at around $100K.

None of them really have the same playful attitude of the ARES. Both in looks and presence, the G-Class Mercedesfeels closest, although it’s in a lower price bracket, and you’d have to take it to a custom interior specialist to match what you can do with the Longroof. But it’s got the best off-road chops of any of the competition, and clearly shares design DNA.

How The Defender V8 Longroof Compares To The Mercedes-AMG G 63 SUV

• 	ARES Defender Longroof	2024 Mercedes-AMG G 63 SUV
  Model	V8 Longroof	G 63 SUV
  Torque	383 LB-FT	657 LB-FT
  Transmission	6-Speed Automatic	9-Speed Automatic
  Driveline	Front Engine, 4WD	Front Engine, 4WD
  MSRP	$300,000	$179,000 Disclaimer
  Horsepower	380	585

People throw around the word “icon” freely, and usually without understanding what it means, but in the automotive world the G-Class qualifies. Much like Land Rover, the Geländewagen has evolved from utilitarian roots into a luxo-ute that finds a welcome at any party. But underneath the glitz and power, you’ll still find a ladder frame and three locking differentials that, with the right tires, will take you deep into Jeep territory.

Performance

A G 63 is stupid fast. I mean it, 585 horsepower and even more meaningfully, 657 pound-feet of torque, is too much for a tall, heavy SUV, even one as refined as the Mercedes-AMG. It has 9.5 inches of ground clearance and weighs 5,800 pounds, which is a recipe for wrecks with intattentive or inexperienced drivers. Still, a sub-4.0 second 0-60 is astonishing and clearly faster than the ARES, which by the seat of my pants is probably around 7.0 seconds.

ARES doesn’t want you to take its truck off road but at the same time, it has coil springs with ORAM adjustable bypass shocks, twin live axles, and only improves on the already world-class stock Defender’s abilities. I’d have full confidence in this thing on a (pretty wide) trail, although I’d rather do the same thing in a Jeep at 1/10th the cost and not worry about a glassy $40,000 paint job,.

Comfort

The Mercedes-AMG’s interior is gorgeous, classy, and dramatic. It’s also complicated, busy, and for some, overstyled. The Defender is in a league of its own, with customization that probably only Rolls-Royce can match. If the vast array of existing factory material options and style ideas don’t yeild something you like, then just ask for it. This is what ARES does. In fact, if you don’t like the shape of the fenders, well, that’s an option, too. It is an interior crafted to your specifications. This is the pinnacle of luxury.

Technology

While you can get your Defender V8 built with whatever infotainment you want, and ARES would include a personal flautist in the back if you asked for it, it’ll never have Mercedes’ widescreen glass cockpit, adaptive ride control, or intelligent four-wheel drive. It’s far more analog than that, and technology is not the ARES Defender’s mission. If you want something high-tech from ARES, ask for one of their Tesla wagons.

Our Recommendation For Which Model You Should Buy

If you’re running the Billionaire Society in Riyadh, we suggest the Cabrio, in custom colors and lettering, to move guests from the Al Faisaliah to the venue…nope, looks like they’re way ahead of me. Well, maybe the Twiga Monte Carlo…oh, they’re already getting one, too?

This is one of those Ferris Bueller “If you have the means” vehicles. The only thing impractical about the ARES Defender is that it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. And has a multi-year wait time. And is probably sold out. But other than those negligible inconveniences, it’s about as practical as any hyper-exclusive hand-built vehicle is ever going to be. The drivetrain is easily maintainable, it’s good to drive and great to be in, and it holds a huge amount of people and stuff. I highly recommend you pick one up.