Land Rover has moved the Defender into cold weather testing ahead of the car's sales launch next year, with the short wheelbase 90-badged model spotted testing under the body of a heavily modified Range Rover Sport.
Initial launch plans for the reborn Defender centre on two different wheelbases and two distinct bodystyles. The famous 90in and 110in wheelbase that gave the old Defender 90 and Defender 110 their names will also inspire the naming strategy of the new model, which will be built on a version of one of Jaguar Land Rover’s aluminium architectures.
Those wheelbases will house both hard- and soft-top bodystyle options for the new car, which are currently being experimented with in Land Rover’s design studio. An eventual series of Defender models will potentially include a pick-up and a line-up of different versions and trims ranging from the more civilised everyday use to the most hardcore, as well as more premium and performance varieties, with one eye on the continued success of the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen.
Land Rover will use its 70th anniversary celebrations later this year to finally reveal its plans for a reborn Defender, which will go on sale in 2019.
It is now two years since the Defender went out of production – 67 years after the original Land Rover Series I, it’s derived from, entered it – and there has been a wall of silence around the company’s plans to launch a replacement.
Has Land Rover made the right decision with the Defender?
However, Autocar can now reveal the new Defender, codenamed L663, will finally be shown towards the end of the year as the centrepiece of Land Rover’s 70th anniversary celebrations – and the model revealed will be the final production car, not a concept.
Land Rover is now wary of revealing concept cars for fear of the design being plagiarised, so it has decided against giving an early flavour of the Defender.
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emilyful
On the off chance that you've never invested significant energy to see your carport entryway, it might be the ideal time to do as such. Garage door repair
Lost their way?
90/110 then Defender phased out by various military customers inc Brit Army (while Steyr/Puch/Merc G-wagon retains strong military orders).
JLR end production before a replacement is ready. That replacement is laughed at by customers for silly design.
Meanwhile Merc G-wagon retains high demand, lumbering on with 40 year old military design, doesnot abandon practical/commercial users in pursuit of lifestyle ideals and, somehow manages to keep a new design looking near identical to the outgoing, meet emissions and crash test regs and INCREASE customer buy-in.
JLR has lost its tough lifestyle market to countless pickup truck producers.
How, how do they manage to screw up, time after time!
PS..who is contributor pioneerseo, with their repetitive, pointless comments...a robowriter?
Vomit inducing drivel.
Vomit inducing drivel.
Bit like the product.
Nuff said.
Rightly proud owner of a 1998 Steyr Daimler Puch , which does exactly what it says on the tin.
with virtually no electronics, minimal maintenance costs & absolutly without fail.
mth