Defenders Replacement

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/2020-defender.336424/

Eee am old pal

Its a disco with a few chunky bits, they have turned it into another over priced Chelsea tractor for the Victoria Beckham's, out of the price range of the people who really like them and want a down to earth rugged work horse.

Looks like a large Kia Soul!

The launch will be interesting. It's easy to upgrade the Range Rover as the defining feature is luxury. The other models follow the same idea.
The Defender though, that's a hard one

Where's the live axles?

Failed at the first hurdle land rover

That will just make the real defenders worth more money! People weren't looking for that from a defender I think there just use the name "defender" too sell it will be full of eletronic this and that.

All cars are full of electronics now, including the puma engined defenders. The days of being able to mend it in a field with a brick and some string are long over as you simply can't build a car like that anymore.

It won't have live axles front and rear, but this really doesn't matter. I've driven a Disco 3 off road and found it very capable.

It will, as far as I know, be based on the same basic structure as the Range Rover (just like the disco 1 was essentially a range rover classic) and all manufacturers do this to an extent. Having every vehicle on a unique platform is just inefficient and no one does this anymore.

This is most likely a test mule based on a disco 4 chassis, or at least heavily disguised with disco panels. This is done all the time to hide the product until the reveal.

Ignore anything you see from autocar etc with headlines like 'what the new defender looks like' as they have been merrily making things up and drawing things to get views for several years. They really haven't a clue what the real thing looks like.

It's clear from these images they will make something along the lines of the new RR mixed with D5.

I've been thinking that if they based the design on the Bowler Wildcat

and maybe through some influences from the Dakar rally 4x4s like the Peuogeot here

I would be really happy for it to keep the name Defender even it's not a solid axle practical tractor.

But unfortunately it's not what they are going for

Hopefully they've learned their lessons from the D5's weird proportions at the front and drunkenly-placed numberplate at the back! Can't quite figure it out but the D5 just looks like something's squashed it.

I was contemplating this driving home through rural Sussex this evening. Plenty of working Defenders about on the road and some bling ones as well to get me thinking. If LR create something that is just another Discovery/Discovery Sport/Evoque/RR then they are only going after the same market as the four I just mentioned. The new Defender will have to have something different about it to stop it diluting the existing range and failing to attract any significant new customers outside the customer base for the Discovery/Discovery Sport/Evoque/RR. Therefore I would like to hope that it is something like, exterior wise, the old Defender. I was thinking what attracts people to the Defender? Ruggedness, off road ability, rugged looks, versatility, towing capacity, relative ease of maintenance, relative cheapness of parts, it's a bit different & they are FUN (when they work). One of the reasons I got my Series was it's a big convertible.
So I wouldn't panic too much yet. It would be good if they got rid of the poor reliability reputation LR have at the same time.

Nice to know that the Series used in 'Born Free' was really a 1990 vintage Fender!!
Trust the Daily Fail to get the Land Rover name right ... the rest of it is immaterial!