4×4S.ORGTHE REGISTRY NAMED MODEL · 2013
NAMED MODELSpecial · Expedition & CampersUnited Kingdom

Pole of Cold Defender 110

The red, snow-covered Defender of Felicity Aston’s Pole of Cold expedition, 2013–14.

Sources & evidence
BASE VEHICLEDefender 110BUILT BYLand RoverIN SERVICE2013OPERATED INUnited KingdomPRODUCTIONOne expedition vehicleLAYOUT4 wheels · 110″

The record

Felicity Aston, Gisli Jonsson and Manu Palomeque travelled across northern Europe and Siberia in winter 2013–14 to investigate life in extreme cold. Their Land Rover and Royal Geographical Society bursary Defender VX13 HGD was prepared with uprated suspension, underbody protection, auxiliary heaters and a long-range fuel tank. It covered roughly 36,000 km and experienced temperatures approaching −59 °C.

This retains the original snow-covered procedural model formerly misidentified as Trail by Fire: red body with blank rear load-space side panels, raised intake, four roof lamps, a rack of silver expedition cases and snow on the body and roof load. Its expedition lettering and identity are corrected to Pole of Cold. The cases retain their cargo-drop gameplay feature. Small markings and snow are stylised.

Specification

MANUFACTURERLand Rover
MANUFACTURED2013; expedition 2013–14
PRODUCTION RUNOne expedition vehicle
COUNTRY OF ORIGINUnited Kingdom
OPERATED INUnited Kingdom
RECORD KINDNamed model
MODEL LINEDefender
WHEELS4
NOMINAL WHEELBASE110″
CATEGORYSpecial · Expedition & Campers

Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.

AI rendering impression

An AI rendering impression starts from a 3D model of this vehicle, which an image model then paints into a scene. It is an artist's impression of the type, made to give a feel for the vehicle in its element — not a photograph, and not a record of any particular vehicle.

Proportions, fittings, markings, colours and the setting can all drift from the original in the process. For the vehicle's actual details, rely on the specification, the photographs and the cited sources on this page.

Sources

  1. 1Felicity Aston — Pole of Cold expedition ↗accessed 2026-09-16SOURCE
  2. 2Pole of Cold Expedition — vehicle walkaround ↗accessed 2026-09-16SOURCE
  3. 3Land Rover departure release, reproduced by The Auto Channel ↗accessed 2026-09-16SOURCE
  4. 4Land Rover — expedition returns ↗accessed 2026-09-16SOURCE
  5. 5Land Rover sustainability report — UK team ↗accessed 2026-09-16SOURCE
  6. 6Land Rover Heritage Collection — Pole of Cold return photograph ↗accessed 2026-09-16SOURCE
  7. 7The snow-covered Pole of Cold Defender returning in 2014. ↗Land Rover Heritage CollectionIMAGE
  8. 8https://www.felicityaston.co.uk/the-pole-of-cold-expeditionhttps://www.felicityaston.co.uk/the-pole-of-cold-expedition ↗REFERENCE

Registry record updated 2026-09-16T12:46:10.586Z · status: researched