Photo: Luca Polcari via Instagram
Land Rover can look back at the new Defender launch and consider it a success, especially when you think of the strong opposition some of the model's hardcore fans threatened to put out initially.
There were a few hiccups, most notably the entire TFL story that was vastly covered by the media and often used as reference whenever the need to point out something negative about the model arose. Still, overall, the positive reviews, the Defender's capabilities, and, probably above anything else, its design mostly stuck to everyone's mind.
Speaking of its design, the car actually won the 2021 World Car Design of the Year, and while these prizes are awarded by various humans, each with their own bias, it was still the only model picked out of a bunch to be handed the award. Besides, you can't honestly look at it and say it's not a good-looking SUV, can you?
The only thing that could help boost the Defender's image now is if it got involved in some off-road competition like the Baja 1000 or the Dakar and won it. Late last year, we got a scare when Land Rover announced it would send two Defenders at this year's Dakar (that took place in January), but they made it very clear the SUVs would not compete and were there simply as support vehicles.
Well, there's always next year. With the short wheelbase Defender 90 version also out, Land Rover has the perfect platform to build its competition model. However, we all know these things usually have very little in common with the production version apart from the ultra-lightweight bodywork made to look similar. Even so, seeing Land Rover re-entering the world's most famous rally-raid competition would be a monumental moment for the brand.
One person who's a little bit ahead of time is Luca Polcari, an Italian design graduate who seems to have a thing for off-road vehicles, especially of the classic nature. His Instagram account features drawings of Mitsubishi Pajeros, old Land Rover Defenders from the Camel Trophy, a YJ Jeep Wrangler, and the reason we've all gathered here, a 2022 Dakar Land Rover Defender.
Luca didn't take the easy approach and went about the same way Land Rover engineers would by first designing a space frame. He then started to add every bit of the body and the wheels—all six of them, including the two spares. He chose to keep the overall look of the Defender intact, so when the front and rear clamshells are closed, the competition car looks like a slightly modified production SUV, at least from the wheel arches up.
It's not like we needed any added incentive, but seeing this thing rendered so vividly almost makes us start a petition to get Land Rover to go ahead and do it. Win, lose—it wouldn't even matter in the end. What matters is that we get to see this thing in real life, cresting dunes and doing the sort of things it's meant to do. The next best thing would be somebody buying a Defender 90 and modifying it to look close to Luca's renderings. We're keeping our fingers crossed for both options.
Speaking of its design, the car actually won the 2021 World Car Design of the Year, and while these prizes are awarded by various humans, each with their own bias, it was still the only model picked out of a bunch to be handed the award. Besides, you can't honestly look at it and say it's not a good-looking SUV, can you?
The only thing that could help boost the Defender's image now is if it got involved in some off-road competition like the Baja 1000 or the Dakar and won it. Late last year, we got a scare when Land Rover announced it would send two Defenders at this year's Dakar (that took place in January), but they made it very clear the SUVs would not compete and were there simply as support vehicles.
Well, there's always next year. With the short wheelbase Defender 90 version also out, Land Rover has the perfect platform to build its competition model. However, we all know these things usually have very little in common with the production version apart from the ultra-lightweight bodywork made to look similar. Even so, seeing Land Rover re-entering the world's most famous rally-raid competition would be a monumental moment for the brand.
One person who's a little bit ahead of time is Luca Polcari, an Italian design graduate who seems to have a thing for off-road vehicles, especially of the classic nature. His Instagram account features drawings of Mitsubishi Pajeros, old Land Rover Defenders from the Camel Trophy, a YJ Jeep Wrangler, and the reason we've all gathered here, a 2022 Dakar Land Rover Defender.
Luca didn't take the easy approach and went about the same way Land Rover engineers would by first designing a space frame. He then started to add every bit of the body and the wheels—all six of them, including the two spares. He chose to keep the overall look of the Defender intact, so when the front and rear clamshells are closed, the competition car looks like a slightly modified production SUV, at least from the wheel arches up.
It's not like we needed any added incentive, but seeing this thing rendered so vividly almost makes us start a petition to get Land Rover to go ahead and do it. Win, lose—it wouldn't even matter in the end. What matters is that we get to see this thing in real life, cresting dunes and doing the sort of things it's meant to do. The next best thing would be somebody buying a Defender 90 and modifying it to look close to Luca's renderings. We're keeping our fingers crossed for both options.
Google News