The year of the Defender
We get up close with the biggest new car of 2019
THERE have been dozens of top-line car launches in the past 12 months – and you can read highlights over the next 62 pages. But there’s no doubt what the biggest arrival was, based on your feedback and the number of you that visited
autoexpress.co.uk. The reborn Land Rover Defender is unashamedly our star of 2019 – and as a result, we got one in for an exclusive photoshoot.
The design and engineering teams at Land Rover had an unenviable task when setting out to create a new Defender. The model had been at the heart of the brand ever since it was the basis for the firm’s creation in 1948. And while production of the ‘original’ Land Rover ended in 2016, Jaguar Land Rover boss Ralf Speth called it “the saddest moment of my life”.
As such, the crowds clamoured onto the Land Rover stand at the Frankfurt Motor Show to witness the return of the iconic nameplate. And at precisely 10.05am on Tuesday 10 September, the music blared, a ramp folded down from the top of the stage and a Defender 110 drove down it. There had been leaks beforehand but even so, the accompanying applause as the covers came off was loud and long.
Standing beneath the stunt was Gerry McGovern, Land Rover’s Design Director and a man with a long history of ‘new Defender’. “When I was in the Rover Group originally in the eighties and nineties, there
was talk about new Defenders then,” he recalls. “When I came back in 2004, they were still talking about it. I was one of the people that decided to bring it back, but it had to be at the right time, because we had to get everything sorted out first.”
The stakes were, and are, enormous. Full-fat Range Rovers and Evoques bring in the cash – but their credibility and authenticity are wrapped up not in the car parks of Chelsea but the fields, beaches and jungles the Defender calls home. So the allnew model had to not only encompass modern design techniques and fuel efficiency but also retain a utilitarian
focus. McGovern
acknowledges the expectation, without ever coming close to admitting that it troubled him. “Was I apprehensive about it? No, because I don’t think that way,” he says. “I think everything we do is a challenge and you’ve got to take the positives from it. The right way to describe it would be excitement rather than trepidation.”
These pictures are the first time the new Defender has featured in a proper studio shoot – and they show more clearly than ever how the icon has evolved. Because, McGovern points out, it had to.
“I often have conversations with traditionalists and they’ll say, ‘Oh, don’t change it, just make it like it is.’ But it wasn’t relevant any more. That car, great as it was, was designed for a different time. People were smaller and the amount of comfort people expect in their cars has changed. But it’s a fact that this is the toughest and most capable Defender ever made.”
The car in our pictures is a 110, the five-door version of the new model. The three-door 90 will come later in 2020 while, if leaked internal documents are to be believed, a longer 130 model with extra load capacity beyond the sixth and seventh seats, is in the pipeline.
Despite the evolution, the new car’s profile is unmistakably Defender, with the distinctive bonnet and strong roofline, not to mention the spare wheel sited on the side-opening tailgate. This alone presented an engineering challenge, in fact, because the larger wheels being offered on the new model required new structural capabilities.
Inside, the Defender gets a sophisticated new electronics architecture that offers the latest smartphone connectivity, but is also future-proofed by over-the-air upgradability. The dominant feature on the fascia is the central, exposed magnesium crossbeam – a structural component which, Land Rover claims, you could use to move the car if you tugged it hard enough. It’s more likely to be useful because of its integrated grab handles.
The engine line-up comprises two petrols, one with mild-hybrid technology, and a couple of diesels. The P300 is the regular four-cylinder petrol, with 296bhp, while the
“Inside, the Defender gets sophisticated new electronics for smartphone connectivity”
bigger sellers are likely to be the D200 (197bhp) and D240 (237bhp) diesels. The hybrid is the P400, which has a straight-six turbocharged and supercharged petrol engine.
Early feedback from potential customers has already persuaded Land Rover to tweak the line-up. In particular, demand for the retro-look 18-inch steel wheels extends far beyond the entry-level edition of the car on which they are offered – so engineers are working on larger ‘steelies’ that can be available to buyers of S, SE and HSE models.
Even so, Land Rover is confident that it has enough accessories to appeal to almost every taste. The options include everything from a side ladder to a roof tent, and four core packs will be available to give every Defender a distinct flavour – from extreme off-roader to urban runabout.
The Defender costs from £45,240 for a 110 equipped with the D200 diesel engine – and if money is less of a concern, the prices extend up to an eye-watering £78,800 for a P400 X 110. There’s even scope for significant extra expense on options beyond that point.
The 90 should start from around £40,000, while the Commercial editions of the car, due later in 2020, will cost from around £35,000 plus VAT.