Defender prototype pushed to the limits by Red Cross
WITH the new Defender not far off from its world premiere (register your interest at landrover.com/defender/ index.html) stories of its prototypes being tested all over the world are rife. The latest one to emerge in the press is of it being put through its paces under the watchful eye of all-terrain experts from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
The prototype vehicle visited the IFRC global fleet base in Dubai where it tackled the region’s rolling dunes and shrugged off steep ascents, demanding side slopes and blind crests. With temperatures in excess of 40 degrees, the iconic hairpins of the Jebel Jais highway were the next destination, as the Defender demonstrated its on-road comfort and agile handling, scaling altitudes of nearly 2000 metres to scale the tallest mountain
in the United Arab Emirates.
Nick Rogers, Jaguar Land Rover Executive Director Product Engineering, said: “It sits on tyres with an overall diameter of up to 815 mm, resulting in a very large contact patch. Coupled with our bespoke traction control system, which monitors and adjusts for a large variety of terrains, this makes the new Defender fantastic on sand and incredibly smooth on road as well.”
The test in Dubai coincides with the renewal of Land Rover’s global partnership with the IFRC – a relationship that dates back 65 years, to 1954, when the first specially-adapted Land Rover entered service in the region as a mobile dispensary. This year marks the humanitarian organisation’s centenary as it celebrates ‘100 Years of Hope’.
Over the next three years, Land Rover will support disaster preparedness and response initiatives in locations including India, Mexico and Australia.
Ilir Caushaj, IFRC’S Team Lead for Global Fleets and Logistics, said: “The Red Cross supports millions of people in crisis every year, working in almost every country in the world. We operate in some of the most hard-to-reach places on earth, often working in very difficult terrain, so our teams have to be able to cope with anything. That’s why we’re proud to have partnered with Land Rover since 1954, and to be putting their new Defender to the test, as together they help us reach vulnerable communities in crisis, whoever and wherever in the world they are.”
So far, prototype models have covered more than 1.2 million kilometres of testing, including a week-long initiative with wildlife conservation charity Tusk, in Kenya, and a dynamic appearance on the famous hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.