New Defender due for release in 2018 (or will it be 2019?)
06.04.2016 by Rovertune
The 29th January 2016, will go down as a very sad day for all enthusiasts of the Land Rover Defender when production of this iconic vehicle came to an end after almost 70 years of production and 2,016,933 vehicles made. Now we all wait with baited breath for the replacement model which was due for release in 2018, but now looks increasingly likely to be 2019.
Work carries on at Land Rover under a cloak of secrecy as they do not want too many details of the new model to escape, but we are getting little snippets as to what we can expect in the run up to release date.
We are hearing that Land Rover is planning to introduce an entire new family of Defenders, and with possibly a performance SVR version on the cards. Such a car would be developed by Jaguar Land Rover’s newly formed Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) division, and would allow the brand to produce powerful and luxurious rugged off-roaders, a market currently dominated by the Mercedes G 63 AMG. It’s also likely that a hardcore off-road Defender SVX will join the range at some stage and we could even see a luxurious SVA version in line with the Range Rover SVAutobiography. This will be a massive step for Land Rover; an Autobiography Defender? Whatever next!!!
Land Rover believes they are onto a winner with SVO as it allows them to ‘play with vehicles and heighten their essence and performance’. This will create some competition for the already established Aftermarket Defender rebuilders.
The first new Defender is not expected to arrive until 2018, and it will spawn a family of at least three individual models. Land Rover says that ‘The old Defender was all about durability, and being an indestructible vehicle, which is what the family of New Defenders will be.
We understand there will be a long-wheelbase five-door model and a sportier looking three-door vehicle but what form commercial type vehicles and workhorse vehicles will take remains unclear at present. What engines the New Defender family would be offered is also unclear, although the standard Defenders are expected to be to be fitted with four-cylinder turbocharged diesel and petrol engines of the Ingenuim type and possibly a more powerful V6 may be developed. What will go into the SVR version will probably be the 5.0 litre Supercharged engine currently used in the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport SVR. Or, there could be a new 3.0 litre Supercharged petrol engine which could replace the 5.0 litre version.
The new Defender will most definitely continue to follow Land Rover’s recent move upmarket, Land Rover have stated ‘In its core form it can be something that can be quite elemental up to something incredibly luxurious, yet the vehicle will remain a true off-roader’.
While exact details are still secret, the new Defender is likely to have an aluminium body built on an aluminium chassis. This would give go-anywhere strength with less weight than from a traditional 4×4 steel chassis. What we do know for sure is that the New Defender will not look like the DC100 Concept vehicles (see picture) which were developed on the basis of replacing the Defender. These concept vehicles were first shown at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show and drew much derision and rejection from members of the Defender fraternity, forcing Land Rover to completely rethink the Defender replacement programme.
All land Rover are saying at this time is “When you see the new Defender, people will know it’s worthy of carrying the badge, It will be able to do everything it says on the tin.”