The Land Rover family has expanded these
past few years to include different models that bear the Range Rover and
Discovery badges. The former includes the classic Range Rover, Sport, Velar and
Evoque, while the latter counts the Discovery and smaller Discovery Sport. So,
is something similar planned for the all-new Defender?
WhichCar “believes” so, reporting that the
Defender nameplate could be used on future vehicles. Now, before you wet your
blades, their entire articles bolts down to this belief: “we’re led to believe
that Land Rover is working on a new, shorter wheelbase derivative of its
aluminium architecture to underpin new models for Range Rover and Defender.”
Okay, that’s not convincing, so we’re not
taking that report very seriously and neither should you, but truth to be told,
Autocar, which is a far more reliable medium, especially when it comes to local
industry news, had reported back in December that a ‘baby’ version of the
Defender was under consideration. It added that this small SUV, which may (or
may not) drop the Defender moniker and be marketed aptly as the Land Rover 80,
could arrive with a starting price or around
£25,000 (about $31,500) in the UK.
In that same report, we were told that it
could be based on a “new platform that Land Rover calls the D10 and parent firm
Tata dubs the Omega-Arc (for Optimal Modular Efficient Global Advanced
Architecture)” being a shortened and cheaper version of the firm’s modular
aluminum platform. Surprisingly, but possibly explaining the thought of
skipping the ‘Defender’ moniker, it would be front-wheel driver with four-wheel
drive offered as an option.
Back to the Australian report, they’re
saying that another rumored model is the Defender 130. The bigger SUV is
supposedly tipped to share the wheelbase length of the 110, but the rear end
might be extended to create more legroom for third-row passengers. The moniker
appeared in an alleged leaked document last year, although when asked about it
by the Australian publication, an LR spokesperson said that “you shouldn’t
believe everything you read on the internet”.
A less likely drivative of the new
Defender is a pickup truck, as there are supposedly no plans for one, with
insiders referring to the Mercedes-Benz X-Class failure when it comes to it,
which will be discontinued in May.
