During World War II, spitfire war planes were produced in Solihull. Afterwards, Rover was able to take over the factory where they started producing the Defender in 1948, a utility vehicle which only slightly changed in appearance over time and is being built here since. It’s THE expedition vehicle and the first car countless people in remote areas of Africa, South America and Asia have ever seen. It’s still being produced almost entirely by hand. The era comes to and end next January: The Defender hasn’t met road safety regulations for quite some time now and production cost is high. We use this last chance to participate in a factory tour. Part after part is being bent, welded, riveted, screwed on etc. It’s incredible how many man (and women) it takes to build a car. In a distant part of the factory, Range Rover and Jaguar are being built by twice as many robots than humans. Finally, the chassis comes together on the rolling road quite fast, while the body is being painted.

We’re not allowed to take pictures inside the production, only at the small Defender museum. It’s great that they have built the museum inside the factory – we look at old cars while new ones are being produced around us.

It’s an incredibly interesting tour and our 77 years old guide Goeff explains everything with a lot of heart and soul. He worked here (not in the factory but in service) before being retired. We get back to the welcome desk at noon where we have lunch. Chicken, Indian curry, minced meat pies and dessert. Nice! We’re only nine people who stay for lunch due to our afternoon activity. We’re sitting next to three Swiss guys who have already spotted our Swiss licence plate in the car park.