Pages leaked ahead of a magazine’s upcoming issue reveal Land Rover’s new Defender, along with wading depth, ground clearance, approach and departure angles, and more.
Land Rover’s tightly kept secret is out before its official unveiling at the Frankfurt motor show this week, thanks to pages of embargoed information from an unpublished magazine being leaked.
User soflorovers on Instagram uploaded supposed images from an upcoming issue of South Africa’s SA4x4 Overland Adventure magazine, and it looks to be pretty legitimate. It is likely our first good look at the new Land Rover Defender.
It appears the next-generation Defender will arrive in five-door 110 and three-door 90 bodystyles at first but some of the similarities to the old model stop there.
There’s no mention of the 130 long-wheelbase, and the new model is built on a monocoque chassis. It will receive over the air updates (internet-enabled) and have the option for air suspension; standard are independent coil springs.
But it does look to be a capable off-roader, with the 110 model claiming 291mm ground clearance, 38-degree approach and 40-degree departure angles, and a 28-degree break-over angle.
Wading depth is 900mm, and the Terrain Response 2 system has a water wade function. There is also the Discovery Sport’s Clearsight Ground View that supplies a camera view of the front wheels and it’s also likely to get a permanent all-wheel-drive system with 2-speed transfer case. A centre differential is standard with an optional active-locking rear differential.
Payload capacity is rated to 900kg, though no ute variants were shown. Braked towing capacity is an impressive 3720kg. Engine options revealed, for now, are a 3.0-litre six-cylinder petrol engine producing 294kW and 550Nm, and a 2.0-litre diesel turbo making 177kW and 430Nm.
Inside, the three-door 90 has five-seats, with a ‘jump seat’ that pops up between the front pews to cater for a sixth body. The larger 110 five-door gets the option of five, six or seven seats (three rows), and can accommodate 2380-litres cargo space with the rear seats folded flat.
Trim options are S, SE, HSE and (presumably a burly) Defender X variant, all coming with different wheels, comfort levels, and trims. Available accessory packs are called the Explorer, Adventure, Country, and Urban.
No doubt the magazine is in some serious trouble for letting Land Rover’s most anticipated model out of the bag. But what do you think, is this the Defender replacement you hoped for?
