Nestled in a vintage warehouse on Kent Avenue sits Brooklyn Coachworks.

This unique business is more than just an automotive workshop — it’s the culmination of a passion for founder Daniel Marcello that spans decades and continents. For Marcello, the custom-made Land Rover Defenders built in his Williamsburg shop aren’t just vehicles; they’re a way of life.

“I started this business seven or eight years ago,” Marcello told Brooklyn Paper. “I bought my first Defender and fell in love.”

That love soon evolved into a mission: to build the most reliable and capable Land Rover Defenders on the market, true to their origins but enhanced with carefully considered upgrades.

Marcello’s own North American Spec Defender 90 is a testament to his dedication. Over the 17 years he’s had it, he pushed the workhorse to its limits in ways that most car owners would consider unthinkable.

“I’ve been to the Sahara, I’ve been to Iceland, I’ve been everywhere in this car,” he said. “I know the car very well. I’ve lived out of it very many times.”

Each experience helped inform his expertise, leading him to open Brooklyn Coachworks.

“It’s a weird obsession — you get into this thing that you love, and it’s your hobby, but it’s also your baby.”

Brooklyn Coachworks prides itself on a philosophy of “Purpose Built.” The concept is simple, Marcello said: build each Defender as Land Rover would have intended, while integrating modern upgrades that enhance durability and comfort. 

“We don’t add unnecessary accessories or overbuild our cars,” he explained. “There are other guys doing it, but they tend to bling it out too much, to make it look like a Jeep or G-Wagon. We try to keep it always traditional. We want it to look like the original Defender.”

And that approach has paid off.

With a clientele that includes adventurous souls seeking vehicles they can trust to take them anywhere, Marcello’s Defenders stand out. “People come to us, I think in part because of who I am. I’ve traveled the world in a Defender, so I think people really see the value in that. They think, ‘You know how to build it; you’ve been on all of these adventures.’”

Almost a decade since its first showroom, Brooklyn Coachworks’ reputation has grown far beyond the Big Apple. Brooklyn Coachworks recently expanded with a new showroom in West Palm Beach, Florida, after their original Manhattan showroom on Bleecker Street closed due to building sales.

But its charming Brooklyn outpost is going strong. The business constructs between 12 to 20 custom Land Rovers annually, with prices starting at $160,000 and reaching $250,000 or more, depending on customization.

“It typically takes about four-to-six months to get a custom car built by us,” Marcello explained. “We supply the vehicle, and customers say, ‘Hey, I want a two-door, four-door in black, green, Italian leather.’”

The process is as meticulous as it is collaborative, he said, with clients knowing they’re part of something unique.

Despite its international reach, Brooklyn Coachworks’ heart is in Williamsburg.

“Brooklyn’s been great — I live in Greenpoint,” Marcello said. The warehouse, with its location by the river and the juxtaposition of modern boutiques like Hermès up the road, represents the mix of grit and luxury that defines the business.

For Marcello, selling these custom-built Defenders is more than a job — it’s fulfilling a childhood dream.

“I love selling these cars. It’s my childhood dream car,” he said.