Photo: SB-Medien
The eagerly anticipated Land Rover Defender comeback is getting closer by the day. Prototypes for the all-new Defender are currently in their advanced testing stages and this involves hitting the Nurburgring.
Now, you might wonder what an offroader like the Landie Defender is doing at the Green Hell. First of all, most Euro automakers use the infamous German track to put their machines through their paces these days, with the engineering benefits being joined by extra awareness.
Secondly, the 2020 Defender also needs to handle the twisty bits. For one thing, there will be plenty of... drifting taking place on social media once the reborn offroader shows up (don't trust us? here's a slip angle battle between a Lamborghini Huracan Performante and the new Mercedes-AMG G63).
Zoom in on the spy pics in the gallery above and you'll notice the generous suspension travel of the new Land Rover Defender (the compression in the Carousel bend is an example as good as any). So rugged terrain fans have nothing to fear.
The Nurburgring testing allows us to notice the independent rear suspension of the vehicle. As opposed to the rough and sturdy solid axle of the old car, this layout is lighter and improves ride quality, but it shouldn't affect the machine's offroading abilities, as we're expecting the engineers to make use of it to increase the ride height.
Besides, the new Defender will be available in plenty of configurations. So far, we've seen the long wheelbase model spied here testing alongside a short wheelbase one. A pickup truck and a convertible could also be on the list.
And since the original model has received its fair share of go-fast builds, we might just see the newcomer being offered in a performance trim, even though this is pure speculation for now.
As for the cabin of the British machine, we'll remind you that an image portraying an interior mockup has recently leaked onto the web.
With the old Defender having retired back in January 2016 after 68 years of service, the new-age model is expected to land later this year.
Secondly, the 2020 Defender also needs to handle the twisty bits. For one thing, there will be plenty of... drifting taking place on social media once the reborn offroader shows up (don't trust us? here's a slip angle battle between a Lamborghini Huracan Performante and the new Mercedes-AMG G63).
Zoom in on the spy pics in the gallery above and you'll notice the generous suspension travel of the new Land Rover Defender (the compression in the Carousel bend is an example as good as any). So rugged terrain fans have nothing to fear.
The Nurburgring testing allows us to notice the independent rear suspension of the vehicle. As opposed to the rough and sturdy solid axle of the old car, this layout is lighter and improves ride quality, but it shouldn't affect the machine's offroading abilities, as we're expecting the engineers to make use of it to increase the ride height.
Besides, the new Defender will be available in plenty of configurations. So far, we've seen the long wheelbase model spied here testing alongside a short wheelbase one. A pickup truck and a convertible could also be on the list.
And since the original model has received its fair share of go-fast builds, we might just see the newcomer being offered in a performance trim, even though this is pure speculation for now.
As for the cabin of the British machine, we'll remind you that an image portraying an interior mockup has recently leaked onto the web.
With the old Defender having retired back in January 2016 after 68 years of service, the new-age model is expected to land later this year.
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