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Only about 2,800 Land Rover Defender 90s were federalized for U.S. buyers during the mid-1990s as North American Specification, or NAS, trucks, and clean, largely original survivors are getting harder to find every year. Chassis #2094 of that run, a 1997 Defender 90 wearing AA Yellow paint over gray upholstery, is currently up for bidding on Bring a Trailer, where the auction has already climbed past $70,000 with bidding still open ahead of an August 1 close.
According to the listing, this particular truck shows just 35,000 miles, roughly 6,000 of which have been added since the current owner purchased it in 2019. Registration history spans California, Minnesota, Arizona, and Florida, and the accompanying Carfax report comes back clean of accident or damage entries. The truck rides on 16-inch alloy wheels with a lifted suspension, and it carries a fairly comprehensive overlanding kit that includes a roll cage with cargo netting, an ARB front bumper with brush guard, a Warn winch, Hella auxiliary lights, diamond-plate side steps, skid plates, a black soft top, air conditioning, and an Alpine CD stereo.
Power comes from Land Rover's 4.0-liter V8, factory-rated at 182 horsepower and 233 lb-ft of torque, paired with a four-speed automatic and a full-time four-wheel-drive system with a dual-range transfer case. The seller notes recent service including a cleaned mass airflow sensor, a new air filter, replacement intake, valve-cover, timing-cover, and oil-pan gaskets, along with a reseal of the transfer case and front differential. A dual-battery kit has also reportedly been fitted, and the original manuals and accessories are said to accompany the truck at sale.
NAS Defenders have become one of the more closely watched corners of the SUV market, and Hagerty's valuation tools put some hard numbers behind that interest. Hagerty's price guide currently pegs a 1997 Defender 90 wagon in #3, or Good, condition at roughly $50,800, down about 7 percent recently, while a comparable soft-top model is valued noticeably higher, near $61,600, reflecting how body style shifts demand within the same model year. Hagerty's data also shows just how wide the swings can be at auction, with sales over the last three years ranging from around $10,600 up to $212,800, and a recent Defender 90 selling for $96,000 on Bring a Trailer only days ago. With 405 public sales tracked in that span, the model clearly has an active, liquid collector market rather than a niche following.
This isn't the first vintage Land Rover to cross our desk recently. We've also covered a rugged, overdrive-equipped South American-spec 1970 Land Rover 88 Series IIA time capsule, a nut-and-bolt restored 1976 Land Rover Series III Santana 88 headed to market in Greenwich, and an ultra-rare BMW-powered Defender 90 restomod that put a modern twist on the formula. Together, they show just how broad collector appetite has become for boxy British off-roaders of every era.
With several days left on the clock and bidding already well into the five figures, this Defender 90 looks poised to land near the upper end of Hagerty's range for the model. Interested buyers can follow the action and review the full photo gallery directly on the auction listing before bidding closes.
