A small venture fuelled by our love For…
In the late '90s, Devon 4x4 was still just a small venture fuelled by our love for rugged, off-road machines and weekend adventures. Back then, we entered an off-road competition with our reliable Land Rover 90, decked out in our eye-catching green and yellow livery—a colour choice that, little did we know, would soon be splashed across the pages of Land Rover Owner International Magazine.
Our Land Rover 90 wasn’t just a pretty face, though. To solve one of its classic limitations—poor visibility from inside a hard top—we’d crafted a set of custom triangular side windows, giving us a clearer view of the terrain. At the time, this simple modification was just a practical tweak to improve our own experience.
The thrill of competing was still fresh when the newest issue of LRO magazine arrived at our door. As we flipped through the pages, there it was: our Land Rover 90, in all its green-and-yellow glory, front and centre in a magazine spread. We were ecstatic seeing our vehicle immortalized in a respected publication felt like a proud moment of recognition for all the effort and heart we’d put into that build.
The next morning, something unexpected happened. A phone call from a Land Rover owner in London. He had spotted our triangular windows in the magazine and wanted a set for his brand-new Anniversary Land Rover 90. I suggested sending him the measurements or shipping the parts to make it easier, but he was resolute. He insisted on driving all the way to Devon to have us install them personally. I can still remember that surge of excitement—and a bit of nervousness. After all, it was one thing to craft parts for our own Land Rover, but to make something for someone else’s prized vehicle. That was new territory.
After some back-and-forth and a fair amount of encouragement on his part, we agreed. In our small, humble workshop, with limited tools and space, we set to work, installing those windows with the same care and dedication that had gone into our own Land Rover. When he drove away, windows in place, a new chapter for Devon 4x4 had quietly begun and he is still a customer today.
Looking back, that seemingly ordinary job was a pivotal moment. Word began to spread, and soon, more inquiries came in—not just for windows but for all kinds of custom work and upgrades. That one customer, willing to go the distance to Devon for a bespoke touch, had set in motion what would become the foundation of Devon 4x4. It was our first taste of what we could offer the Land Rover community, and from that day forward, we knew we were onto something special. It was a humble beginning, but as they say, the rest is history.