autoevolution
 

Prince Harry Checks Out the 2020 Land Rover Defender

Building up the hype is all that Land Rover is capable of doing these days with the 2020 Defender. To be unveiled in the second half of the year, the off-road SUV appears to tick all the right boxes as far as Prince Harry is concerned.
2020 Land Rover Defender 44 photos
Photo: Land Rover
2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)2020 Land Rover Defender 110 (U.S. model)
The two were photographed next to an athlete, and this collaboration comes as a result of Harry’s position as patron of the Invictus Games Foundation and the British automaker’s partnership with the multi-sport event.

“Everyone at Jaguar Land Rover is hugely passionate about the Invictus Games,” declared Ralf Speth. “I am so proud the competitors will be among the first people in the world to drive the next-generation Defender when they compete in the Jaguar Land Rover Driving Challenge in The Hague,” concluded the chief executive officer.

The fleet of 2020 Defender prototypes clocked up 1.2 million kilometers at the end of April 2019, and by the end of research & development period, Jaguar Land Rover estimates the number of tests will total in the ballpark of 45,000. Here’s hope all this testing will help the Defender in terms of reliability.

So far, we know the 2020 Defender has independent rear suspension and air bags. The switch to unibody has also polarized opinion, but nevertheless, don’t forget what kind of people are buying into the Land Rover brand. The days when the Defender used to be known as the Series are long gone, and also gone are the farmers who used the body-on-frame SUV to work the land.

Thanks to the Modular Longitudinal Architecture, the 2020 model year will be offered with mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrain options. If you were wondering, the MLA also supports complete electrification. Officials at Jaguar Land Rover haven’t given any indication the Defender would go all-electric, but never say never.

An engine that we would like to see in the 2020 Defender is the Ingenium inline-six. The mild-hybrid powerplant is good for 400 ponies in the Range Rover Sport HST.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories