Brooklyn Coachworks
Custom Land Rover builder founded by Daniel Marcello in a warehouse on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, turning out roughly twelve to twenty hand-built vehicles a year — mostly restomodded Defenders, but also Range Rovers, Discoveries and Series trucks. Its Series One 107 ute was built with the American Land Rover fabricator Timm Cooper.
History
Daniel Marcello grew up in upstate New York and met Land Rovers at a 50th anniversary gathering near Greek Peak; he bought a 1994 Defender 90 and drove it for fourteen years, learning the vehicle as he went while working at an advertising agency. Building Defenders for friends turned into requests from strangers, and the hobby became Brooklyn Coachworks — dated to 2017 by NUVO magazine and to 2018 by the Brooklyn Paper, in a warehouse space on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg where the firm still works.
The shop builds to order rather than to a catalogue. Most of the work is classic Defender 90s and 110s given galvanised chassis, new panels, disc brakes, air conditioning, heated seats, electric windows, reversing cameras, CarPlay screens and Italian leather, with a choice of Td5, 300Tdi, Cummins, LS3 or 6.2-litre LT1 V8 power; Range Rovers, Discoveries and mid-century Series vehicles back to the 1948 Series I also come through. Output runs at roughly twelve to twenty vehicles a year, a build takes four to ten months, and prices reported in 2024-25 started around $160,000 and ran past $250,000. Alongside Williamsburg the business has shops in Italy — trading as Brooklyn Coachworks SRL — and in Virginia, and has opened a storefront in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The firm's Series One 107 ute is the Difflocked reference vehicle: a restomod built in collaboration with Timm Cooper, one of the best-known Land Rover fabricators in the United States, on a refurbished 107-inch tray-back body with Rovertracks-converted Range Rover Classic axles and a 350 hp Chevrolet 327 with Holley Sniper EFI. Three friends drove it from Seattle to New York, and it made the cover of Alloy+Grit.
The firm has been written up in Robb Report, Newsweek, Ralph Lauren Magazine and the Brooklyn Paper. Its founding date is the one basic fact that published accounts disagree on.
Vehicles in this registry (1)
Sources & citations
- Brooklyn Coachworks — Custom Land Rover Defenders (Daniel Marcello, president; custom Defender 90 and 110 builds with galvanised chassis, new panels, disc brakes, air conditioning, CarPlay and Italian leather; Td5, 300Tdi, LS3 and 6.2 L LT1 V8 options; 4-10 month builds; around 20 years building Defenders) ↗ — brooklyncoachworks.com (accessed 2026-09-10)
- Built for adventure: How Brooklyn Coachworks keeps the classic Defender alive (founded 2018 on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg; 12 to 20 custom Land Rovers a year; shops in Italy and Virginia and a new West Palm Beach storefront; four to six months per build; prices from $160,000 to over $250,000) ↗ — Brooklyn Paper (accessed 2026-09-10)
- Brooklyn Coachworks' Rugged Elegance: Land Rover Restoration in the Heart of Brooklyn (Marcello's advertising background and upstate New York childhood; 1994 Defender 90 driven for 14 years; company established 2017; Williamsburg, Kent Avenue; Defenders, Range Rovers, Discoveries and Series vehicles back to 1948) ↗ — NUVO Magazine (accessed 2026-09-10)
- How Brooklyn Coachworks Turns Old Land Rovers Into Modern Off-Roaders — With Classic Looks ↗ — Robb Report (accessed 2026-09-10)
- Brooklyn Coachworks Land Rover Series One 107 UTE (built with Land Rover fabricator Timm Cooper; Chevrolet 327 with Holley Sniper EFI; driven Seattle to New York; Alloy+Grit cover) ↗ — The Coolector (accessed 2026-09-10)
Maker record updated 2026-09-10T05:17:07.278Z · status: researched