Photo: Land Rover
The last time a Defender was sold through Land Rover in the United States was in 1997, and that’s eons ago in the automotive world. This time around, the all-new model will arrive in the United States in 2020 with at least one body style.
Land Rover themselves published “official spy photos” of the MLA-based Defender, which features unibody construction as opposed to the body-on-frame chassis of its predecessor. In other words, the off-road SUV shares its underpinnings with the next generations of the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, and Land Rover Discovery.
Testing of U.S.-spec prototypes will begin in 2019 according to Land Rover, and availability will extend to Canada as well. The engineers will subject the test mules to “temperatures from -40 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit while driving the vehicles on- and off-road at altitudes of more than 13,000 feet above the sea level.”
Thirteeners in the United States are plentiful, with 637 of them in Colorado alone. California has 149 such mountains, followed by Alaska with 41 and Wyoming with 34. All things considered, Land Rover is taking the development and fine-tuning of the Defender seriously.
A low-range transfer case working together with multiple differential locks should help in off-road scenarios, but this kind of hardware comes at a price. It is likely Land Rover will position the Defender price-wise between the Discovery and Range Rover Sport, therefore expect something in the ballpark of $55,000 for the entry-level configuration.
Also in terms of oily bits, the Defender will be offered with a choice of four- and six-cylinder Ingenium engine options, all of them turbocharged for good measure. It must be highlighted that the Modular Longitudinal Architecture has been engineered for mild hybrid, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and all-electric powertrains, so look forward to an eco-friendly Defender in the nearest of futures.
Turning our attention back to the beginning of the story, we mentioned “at least one body style.” Our assumption originates from the photo gallery shared by Land Rover, which features the five-door Defender 110. The short-wheelbase Defender 90 with three doors has been spied in Europe, but only time will tell if Land Rover can make a case for it on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Testing of U.S.-spec prototypes will begin in 2019 according to Land Rover, and availability will extend to Canada as well. The engineers will subject the test mules to “temperatures from -40 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit while driving the vehicles on- and off-road at altitudes of more than 13,000 feet above the sea level.”
Thirteeners in the United States are plentiful, with 637 of them in Colorado alone. California has 149 such mountains, followed by Alaska with 41 and Wyoming with 34. All things considered, Land Rover is taking the development and fine-tuning of the Defender seriously.
A low-range transfer case working together with multiple differential locks should help in off-road scenarios, but this kind of hardware comes at a price. It is likely Land Rover will position the Defender price-wise between the Discovery and Range Rover Sport, therefore expect something in the ballpark of $55,000 for the entry-level configuration.
Also in terms of oily bits, the Defender will be offered with a choice of four- and six-cylinder Ingenium engine options, all of them turbocharged for good measure. It must be highlighted that the Modular Longitudinal Architecture has been engineered for mild hybrid, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and all-electric powertrains, so look forward to an eco-friendly Defender in the nearest of futures.
Turning our attention back to the beginning of the story, we mentioned “at least one body style.” Our assumption originates from the photo gallery shared by Land Rover, which features the five-door Defender 110. The short-wheelbase Defender 90 with three doors has been spied in Europe, but only time will tell if Land Rover can make a case for it on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Google News