New Defender is the real deal
Stop moaning and celebrate the launch of a new legend
SO it’s finally here, the new Defender. More than three years after they stopped making the old one. I am so proud of the fact that we are the first Land Rover magazine in the world to have it on our cover without the camouflage. There has been a lot of work behind the scenes to make that happen.
You have no idea of the goings-on prior to a massive global launch like this. I actually saw the new Defender in all its glory several months ago at the design studio in Gaydon, where they showed us the various models and accessories for the first time. When I drove home I had to remind myself that this was an entirely new vehicle and comparing it to my 1998 Defender in the car park was not fair. That is like comparing a Series I to a last off-the-line old Defender.
I was fortunate enough to attend the global reveal at the Frankfurt Motor Show which most of you probably watched live on Youtube or Facebook. I can genuinely say that the more I see it, sit in it and study all the little design nods to the old Defender, the more I like what I see. I know I am not alone and I also know that there will be hordes of traditional Defender fans slamming it on social media. “That is not a real Defender,” they will say. “It looks like a Kia on steroids”. No it does not. Give it a chance.
Land Rover needs the new Defender to work for them. Due to its versatility and breadth of range on offer it will have wide appeal and be a massive success. I hope that in ten years time we look back at September 10, 2019, as the day we first saw the vehicle that really turned things around for JLR on a global scale. Read Team LRM’S thoughts on the new Defender on page 42.
Another feature not to be missed is my report on the Last Overland expedition. They have just left Singapore bound for London. A journey of 10,000 miles in three Land Rovers including Oxford, the 1955 Series I 86 that did the original First Overland expedition 64 years ago!
I reckon the friendly Asian people are without a doubt the most passionate Land Rover fans in the world. Find out why I say so on page 52.