All opinions are mine and mine alone.
You either love or hate Land Rover Defenders. If you are in the ‘love them’ camp you are a real enthusiast who will spend hours caring for your pride and joy. If you hate them, you wouldn’t entertain riding around in such a cumbersome vehicle let alone paying good money for them!
The Land Rover Defender is now out of production and this has been widely lamented. However, something rather exciting is happening next year. The company are planning an all-new version of this iconic, niche 4×4. Depending on your point of view, you may be dismayed or excited by what they have planned for this old workhorse.
Whilst you can get a good look at all the other vehicles in the Land Rover range by checking out Cars & Co land rover deals, you will have to wait a bit longer to get a glimpse of the new Defender.
What to expect from the old favorite
Land Drover are unlikely to replace their iconic workhorse with an incapable model. This is a vehicle that will still deliver for you when the going gets tough. Yet pleasing everyone when you are designing a much-loved classic is almost impossible. Sales are unlikely to hit the dizzy heights of the more urban-friendly SUVs yet the company still needs to make some money. This is going to be a difficult balancing act. In an attempt to achieve this, the Defender will share components with other Land Rover models so that costs can be cut. It will be built alongside other cars. There are plans for a modular architecture and chassis elements for weight reduction to make the new Discovery a better-handling vehicle. Even the exact timing of the launch is not yet known but it is likely to be sometime in 2018.
Future plans for the Defender
Once the basic model has been launched, Land Rover is planning to introduce a whole family of Defenders! There are even rumors that a performance SVR version of the forthcoming 4×4 could be on the way. It is likely that this model would be developed by Jaguar Land Rover and would be heavily marketed to the luxury markets in Russia and China where there is great demand for upmarket but rugged off-roaders. It could knock the Mercedes G 63 AMG off the top spot.
There have also been hints that a hardcore off-road Defender SVX will be added to the range at some stage. This may be joined by a luxurious SVA version along the lines of the Range Rover SVAutobiography.
Whatever versions of the new model they come up with, it is clear that Land Rover are determined to remain true to the Defender legacy. The new model will be a true off-roader with an aluminum body built on an aluminum chassis. It will have the strength and capability to venture where other vehicles would not dare. Which is why so many enthusiasts fell in love with it in the first place.
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