After almost 70 years, it's the end of the road for the Land Rover Defender

The Indian conglomerate Tata bought the loss-making Jaguar and Land Rover brands in 2008

The last Land Rover Defender rolls off the production line at Solihull yesterday (PA)

The last classic Land Rover Defender, the 4x4 known the world over and with famous owners including the Queen, has rolled off the production line – 68 years after the first was built.

Originally intended for agricultural use, the off-roader became popular with the military and explorers, and with celebrities such as Sir Paul McCartney and Steve McQueen.

More than two million Defenders have been sold since 1948 when, because of steel shortages after the war, aluminium was used for most of the body panels.

The Indian conglomerate Tata bought the loss-making Jaguar and Land Rover brands in 2008 and has since rapidly updated and expanded its upmarket Range Rover line-up, but will now turn its attention to the Defender model.

“Any conventional vehicle would have been replaced many times over in the lifespan of the Defender,” a spokeswoman said. “We have now got the technology, pioneering engineering capability and design expertise to evolve the Defender.”

It takes 56 hours to build a Defender, largely by hand, at the Solihull factory.

REUTERS