French Army Durisotti Defender 130 Ambulance

History

Durisotti of Sallaumines converted large numbers of Defenders for the French armed forces from the 1990s, mostly five-door 110 station wagons for the Army with some three-door 90s for the Navy, recognisable by minor detail changes over the standard Defender such as the extra marker light above the grille. Alongside them the Army used Durisotti Defender 130 ambulance conversions: a Defender 130 chassis-cab with a coachbuilt box body wider than the cab, a rounded Luton peak over the cab roof, a single side window and twin rear doors, finished in white with a yellow waist stripe on the cab, a yellow border and red cross on each body side, hazard diamonds and a blue beacon. Bob Morrison photographed this one with a French contingent on Joint Warrior 2013 at Braid Fell, and in his 2025 note on the French double cab said a full feature on the ambulances was planned. Numbers converted are not stated in the source.

The registry's model keeps the Defender 130's cab and front and replaces the double-cab tray with the box body, peak, livery, beacon and bumper chevrons from the photograph; the plate is read from the picture as 6091 and the body's dimensions follow the picture.

Imagery

Registry record

Manufacturer

Durisotti ↗

Land Rover (Defender 130 chassis-cab); ambulance body by Durisotti, Sallaumines

Manufactured

In service by 2013 (conversion dates not stated in the source)

Modifier / coachbuilder

Durisotti ↗

Engine type

Land Rover 2.5 L Td5 turbo-diesel (Defender 130 of the period; not stated in the source)

Production run

Unknown — a small batch alongside Durisotti's 110 station wagon conversions

Country of origin

France

Operated in

France

Status

unknown

Catalogue data

Record kind

Named model

Model line

Defender

Wheels

4

Nominal wheelbase

130″

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.

Sources & citations

Researched sources

• MLR Pt.56 — French Armed Forces Defender Double Cab (Bob Morrison; notes the French Army's Durisotti Defender 130 ambulance conversions and shows one on Joint Warrior 2013) ↗ — Joint Forces News (accessed 2026-09-11)

Catalogue references

• https://www.joint-forces.com/utility-4x4/84388-mlr-pt-56-french-armed-forces-defender-double-cab https://www.joint-forces.com/utility-4x4/84388-mlr-pt-56-french-armed-forces-defender-double-cab ↗

Development reference notes

• MMB Defender 130 St John ambulance · HERITAGE-FLEET-REFERENCES.md

  Tall square medical body; side patient access; ambulance lighting and markings. Reference: https://www.lrheritagecollection.org.uk/the-collection/vehicles/svc-01

• [Land Rover ambulance dimensions](https://www.landrover.es/content/dam/lrdx/pdfs/es/711389_L316_15MY%20AVM_110_130_AMBULANCE%206pp.pdf): 130 chassis-cab ambulance layout and 1,790 mm cab width / 1,486 mm track reference. · DEFENDER-PROPORTIONS.md

  - [Land Rover ambulance dimensions](https://www.landrover.es/content/dam/lrdx/pdfs/es/711389_L316_15MY%20AVM_110_130_AMBULANCE%206pp.pdf): 130 chassis-cab ambulance layout and 1,790 mm cab width / 1,486 mm track reference.