Land Rover Defenders are having a major comeback. Between the new-generation Defender 90s and 110s and the folks rebuilding older models, Land Rover is as popular as ever. With that popularity comes the unearthing of the more obscure and rare models like this 1998 Land Rover Winter Water Wolf Defender 90 made for the Royal Marines. This special Defender is easily one of the coolest vintage 4×4 SUVs ever. But it is without a doubt the coolest car name of all time. 

This vintage Land Rover Defender is crazy rare

Not only does the Land Rover Water Winter Wolf Defender 90 have the coolest name, but it is also the coolest vintage 4×4 SUV. Unfortunately, they are rarer than hen’s teeth. To be clear, that means really, really rare. So rare, in fact, that Land Rover only ever made 50 examples of this crazy Mil-spec Defender. 

What was the Land Rover Defender Wolf? 

According to Silodrome, the name is not only super badass, but it’s also describing what this Defender is all about. The Winter Water Wolf was designed for ultra-low temps and deep water crossing. 

The Wolf was highly modified to be as tough and go-anywhere-able as possible. While the design worked for toughness, literally nothing was done to make it comfortable in any way, but such is anything mil-spec. 

To build the toughest Defender ever made, the Winter Water Wolf got a reengineered chassis and suspension. It also needed a new heavy-duty suspension and an even beefier 300Tdi diesel engine. 

This engine was chosen because the electronics were simpler than the more modern Td5. This older engine was also something military mechanics had years of experience working on. 

What makes the Land Rover Winter Water Wolf the coolest vintage 4×4 SUV? 

The WWW was made to conquer extremely cold temperatures, especially when a water traverse is needed. The main function was to drive it off a carrier and shuttle soldiers and equipment to the beach. The Winter Water Wolf can handle temperatures down to -46ºC or -51ºF. 

As we mentioned, earlier this super-duty Land Rover Wolf is exceedingly rare, making this one currently for sale by Car and Classic in the U.K. with 700 original miles a unicorn. Military vehicles are often pretty rough when they are retired from service. This one seems to be nearly perfect inside and out. 

The Winter Water Wolf is so cool it hurts to know that only the very rich will ever have a chance to own one. However, given that the British Military had many versions of the Wolf, there is some hope in finding a regular one and pretending. Although they have sold for only about $50,000 in the past, that is a decent pile of cash considering they are about as stripped and spartan as anything can be.

The Wolf came in a wide variety of specs

The Wolf came in many different versions to best fit different missions. The British Ministry of Defense gave the Wolf several different names depending on the specification. There is the Truck Utility Light (TUL) HS and the Wolf 110 Truck Utility Medium (TUM) HS (HS stands for High Specification). However, Land Rover simply calls the vehicle the eXtra Duty (XD). 

While the Wolf was used in many British military installations, the coolest vintage 4×4 SUV, the Winter Water Wolf, was a rare sight, indeed.