Production of the iconic Land Rover Defender came to
an end after more than six decades, and we’re now getting our first look at its
replacement. These impeccable spyshots come from Land Rover themselves, where
we see a camouflage prototype making its rounds in close proximity to the
company’s base.
The new Defender is still a
boxy-looking thing although some might say it lacks the hardcore, off-roader
appearance of its predecessor. If you brought out your history books, you might
see some resemblance to the Defender Concept 100 (DC100) show car from seven
years ago. Of course, fake body panels may distort the actual shape of the
final product.
Given the pedigree of the Defender nameplate, you
can expect a high degree of off-road prowess to be present in the upcoming
model, currently codenamed L663. Its maker isn’t revealing much about the
Defender, so whether it decides to squeeze in as much electronic doodads to
support its go-anywhere ability (including hybrid tech), or hang on to what is
now considered “old-fashioned,” we’ll have to wait and see.
However, the company has issued a statement saying,
“Jaguar Land Rover runs a wide range of engineering and technology development
programmes. We are unable to comment on the specific nature of these
programmes. However, we can confirm that the Defender programme is progressing
well and has reached an exciting stage of its development.” With that in mind,
rumours point towards an official launch by 2020.
