Photo: KDesign / Behance
Land Rover discontinued the original Defender in 2016 after several decades in production, but it brought it back in 2020. However, the Brits revived it as an SUV only, leaving the pickup version a thing of the past. But this will change soon. Land Rover confirmed it will offer a new Defender-based truck in the future.
The news comes from Nick Collins, Jaguar Land Rover's executive director of vehicle programs, who said that a pickup version of the Defender is doable despite the SUV's monocoque construction.
"You can make a pickup from a monocoque," he said according to Autocar, adding that "there is customer demand" for such a model right now. "We always said the Defender would be a family," he continued, but stressed that talking about a new-generation hauler should be "saved for another day."
While Collins isn't yet prepared or allowed to talk about the Defender pickup, it's quite obvious that such a variant is on the drawing board. It's probably at least a year away, so we might not see it in the metal until late 2022, but it could look just like the truck in this rendering by KDesign.
This one's obviously based on the four-door 110 version of the SUV, but Land Rover will most definitely offer a two-door variant based on the Defender 90 too. And since a Defender 130 model with a longer wheelbase and extended rear section is also underway, we should see a truck version of that as well.
The Land Rover Defender pickup will be sold in both European and North American markets. The latter is by far the biggest in the world, so Land Rover wouldn't miss the opportunity to take on the popular Ford Ranger and Chevrolet Colorado. The long-wheelbase 130 version would also be big enough to give the Jeep Gladiator a run for its money.
But the Defender pickup will be notably more expensive than its Detroit-based rivals, mostly because it will be placed higher on the premium ladder. The SUV starts from $46,100 and the truck will probably fetch a bit more than that. The Jeep Gladiator, for instance, retails from $33,565 in base trim.
The truck will obviously share powertrains with the SUV. There will be a P300 model with the 2.0-liter four-cylinder rated at 296 horsepower and a couple of diesel mills too. The company's oil burner offerings includes both a 2.0-liter four-banger and a 3.0-liter inline-six. Output ranges from 197 to 237 horsepower for the 2.0 and from 197 to 296 horses for the bigger 3.0-liter. A plug-in hybrid is also in the books.
"You can make a pickup from a monocoque," he said according to Autocar, adding that "there is customer demand" for such a model right now. "We always said the Defender would be a family," he continued, but stressed that talking about a new-generation hauler should be "saved for another day."
While Collins isn't yet prepared or allowed to talk about the Defender pickup, it's quite obvious that such a variant is on the drawing board. It's probably at least a year away, so we might not see it in the metal until late 2022, but it could look just like the truck in this rendering by KDesign.
This one's obviously based on the four-door 110 version of the SUV, but Land Rover will most definitely offer a two-door variant based on the Defender 90 too. And since a Defender 130 model with a longer wheelbase and extended rear section is also underway, we should see a truck version of that as well.
The Land Rover Defender pickup will be sold in both European and North American markets. The latter is by far the biggest in the world, so Land Rover wouldn't miss the opportunity to take on the popular Ford Ranger and Chevrolet Colorado. The long-wheelbase 130 version would also be big enough to give the Jeep Gladiator a run for its money.
But the Defender pickup will be notably more expensive than its Detroit-based rivals, mostly because it will be placed higher on the premium ladder. The SUV starts from $46,100 and the truck will probably fetch a bit more than that. The Jeep Gladiator, for instance, retails from $33,565 in base trim.
The truck will obviously share powertrains with the SUV. There will be a P300 model with the 2.0-liter four-cylinder rated at 296 horsepower and a couple of diesel mills too. The company's oil burner offerings includes both a 2.0-liter four-banger and a 3.0-liter inline-six. Output ranges from 197 to 237 horsepower for the 2.0 and from 197 to 296 horses for the bigger 3.0-liter. A plug-in hybrid is also in the books.
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