Photo: qfrcy via Instagram
After the initial excitement following the release of the new Land Rover Defender, people went, "Hey, wait a minute, this may look cool and be one of the most capable off-the-shelf off-roaders, but it's not a Defender."
Indeed, one quick look at its price tag confirms this is far from a farmer's workhorse - except maybe if they were farming diamonds or something. It crossed far into Discovery territory and, if you went really hard on the options list, you could even step on the toes of a Range Rover Sport. With the previous Defender, that was only possible using the aftermarket modding community.
On the other hand, this price tag has pretty strong roots in reality. Take the Discovery, for example. The new Defender offers largely the same interior space, similar features, and better performance over rough terrain. The only area where it lacks in is the perceived quality of the interior - no soft, textile carpets, no wood trims on the dashboard - but other than that, even its on-road manners are comparable.
All this considered, it's understandable if people are slightly more reluctant to use the new Defender as the starting point for a crazy off-road vehicle with tons of modifications that leave it barely recognizable. The fact a Land Rover dealership in the U.S. tried to install a winch and ended up totaling the car might have something to do with it, too.
Thank God for Photoshop and the people who know how to use it as they can come up with the most daring concepts, limited only by their imagination. Case in point is qfrcy's modified Defender you see here, a bold take on the British SUV that keeps very little of the original in place.
Actually, we'd argue this build would be easier to make by pasting the front end of the Defender on a random off-roader, rather than going through the trouble of cutting and lifting a Defender. Sure, that would be cheating, but it wouldn't take anything away from how cool this whole project looks.
It has huge wheels, a completely new suspension system with a massive lift, a roll cage, an open bed at the rear (an option not available with the new Defender) for the spare wheels, an LED light bar up front, and a scoop on top of the cabin that probably serves some point, though we fail to see what that is.
The dark finish suits the new look made even more aggressive by the eyelids over the headlights and the side exhausts protruding through the rear side panel. This thing really looks ready for Baja 1000. Actually, the real question is whether Baja 1000 is ready for it.
On the other hand, this price tag has pretty strong roots in reality. Take the Discovery, for example. The new Defender offers largely the same interior space, similar features, and better performance over rough terrain. The only area where it lacks in is the perceived quality of the interior - no soft, textile carpets, no wood trims on the dashboard - but other than that, even its on-road manners are comparable.
All this considered, it's understandable if people are slightly more reluctant to use the new Defender as the starting point for a crazy off-road vehicle with tons of modifications that leave it barely recognizable. The fact a Land Rover dealership in the U.S. tried to install a winch and ended up totaling the car might have something to do with it, too.
Thank God for Photoshop and the people who know how to use it as they can come up with the most daring concepts, limited only by their imagination. Case in point is qfrcy's modified Defender you see here, a bold take on the British SUV that keeps very little of the original in place.
Actually, we'd argue this build would be easier to make by pasting the front end of the Defender on a random off-roader, rather than going through the trouble of cutting and lifting a Defender. Sure, that would be cheating, but it wouldn't take anything away from how cool this whole project looks.
It has huge wheels, a completely new suspension system with a massive lift, a roll cage, an open bed at the rear (an option not available with the new Defender) for the spare wheels, an LED light bar up front, and a scoop on top of the cabin that probably serves some point, though we fail to see what that is.
The dark finish suits the new look made even more aggressive by the eyelids over the headlights and the side exhausts protruding through the rear side panel. This thing really looks ready for Baja 1000. Actually, the real question is whether Baja 1000 is ready for it.
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