Jaguar Land Rover boss, Ralph Speth, says the new Defender’s design is complete and that it “will be an authentic successor”.
THE NEW LAND ROVER DEFENDER will be launched in 2018 which is just enough time between the old one going out of production and the new one coming on-stream to build some demand. Land Rover, we can only imagine, is also hoping some distance between old and new will keep the traditionalists from becoming too militant when it’s released.
That said, in an interview with Autocar, Jaguar Land Rover boss, Ralph Speth said: “There is no question of the new Defender just being an icon. We are working on an authentic successor to the old Defender … The architecture will contain a lot of elements that are different [from its other aluminium cars, despite being built on the same platform].
And for those speculating it would share the same running gear as the Discovery Sport and Evoque, Speth said, no.
Reinventing the Defender has been a tricky one for Land Rover, especially given that all Land Rover models have to make money now. See, when the DC100 concept (pictured) was revealed, Land Rover traditionalists went mental, complaining that it wasn’t a true successor to the Defender. And so Land Rover went back to the drawing board.
So the new Defender needs to keep the traditionalists on board as you don’t want to put off brand advocates, but it also needs to appeal to a raft of new buyers to ensure it’s a profitable exercise.
Question: Do you think Land Rover was right to bin the DC100 concept?
Amazing
It’s to late other brands have got the market
Concept looks like a Pajero mated with a Mini. I hope different running gear translates to mechanical rather than electronic 4WD.
I think the DC100 looks good. I don’t understand the dislike.
Some seem to suggest the market has been taken by other manufacturers,but in fact the defender is still sold surprising numbers despite it’s now aged design. That design of course is also expensive to build and doesn’t meet modern safety standards. I think a well designed,extremely practical,well built and competent defender will have a bright future. The defenders off road prowess is beyond doubt and it’s legend remains intact……a good basis for a successful revival.
The design is awful – completely absurd as a so called follow up to Defender. IN THE BIN…FILE 13
DC100? that’s not a defender it’s a mini.