Land Rover Defender; Volkswagen Up! GTI; Chop and change; BMW Concept 8 Series; Rolls-royce Sweptail; millionth Porsche 911; Renault Mégane RS; BMW M8
As this rendering shows, Land Rover’s successor to the hard-as-nails Defender promises to be more versatile and every bit as tough
CODE NAME
L663 D7u – the latter referring to the use of a downsized and simplified version of the Range Rover’s D7 all-aluminium platform, and the “u” suffix possibly referring to utility.
LADDER FRAME FINISHED
Adopting the D7u platform means the new Defender will ditch the traditional cast-iron ladder-frame chassis in favour of a lighter, monocoque construction. This will hopefully improve the new car’s on-road manners.
TOUGHNESS REMAINS
The platform may be more car-like, but its modularity means it can still be geared towards utility. The setup can accommodate two different axle configurations – standard and workhorse – as well as such off-roading must-haves as a raised ride height, low-range transfer case and diff-locks all round. It’s a setup that Land Rover claims is as tough and capable as the original Defender’s.
“The Defender is all about durability; that indestructible, durable vehicle which is what a family of Defenders would be,” says JLR design chief, Gerry Mcgovern.
TWO FLAVOURS FOR NOW
Dispensing with the ladder frame also means greater flexibility in terms of vehicle dimensions, allowing Land Rover to spin numerous variants off the D7u platform. Solihull will initially produce two-door and four-door tin-top models. Pickup and soft-tail variants are expected later on.
MUCK AND BRASS
Specification line-ups will likely incorporate an Autobiography-style upmarket version with added comfort tech and trimmings, and a more spartan workhorse option. There’s even talk of a hot SVR version with a supercharged engine and more performanceoriented underpinnings.
FOUR-POT LOT
The backbone of the Defender’s powertrain base will comprise JLR’S four-cylinder Ingenium petrol and diesel engines, although the D7u platform could potentially accommodate the firm’s V6 units or a mild/plug-in hybrid setup.
MADE IN ENGLAND
Production will start place in 2018 at Defender’s home ground of Solihull in the UK, with a projected annual capacity of 50 000 units. From 2019, a second production facility will open in Nitra, Slovakia, offering double the capacity.