Baby Land Rover Defender due in 2022

Jaguar Land Rover has secretly green-lit plans to develop an all-new baby Land Rover Defender that will rival the Suzuki Jimny and be on sale as soon as 2022.

According to What Car magazine, the pint-size off-roader will initially be launched strictly in front-wheel drive form powered by a small 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine.

That suggests the mini-Defender will be more of a small SUV than hard-core 4x4, but the Brit mag says four-wheel drive versions are also in the pipeline and will come later after the baby Defender's launch.

The front-drive versions will allow Land Rover to target buyers seeking a more stylish alternative to the Audi Q3, BMW X1 and Volvo XC40, rather than those after a rugged small 4x4.

That makes sense because, beneath the shrunken Defender, the smallest Land Rover will be based on a shortened version of the same D7x aluminium monocoque platform that should also repackage its bigger brother's all-wheel drive system with centre locking differential, and perhaps even its two-speed transfer case with low-range gear ratios.

A smaller, lighter version of the capable new Land Rover Defender 90 with the proper equipment onboard could become one of the world's most capable off-roaders ever when it arrives.

Jaguar Land Rover's smallest ever model won't be as cheap as a Suzuki Jimny, however, with an expected starting price of £25,000 ($A45,000).

It's thought the baby Defender could be called either the 'Defender 80', 'Defender Sport' or even 'Defender Lightweight' – resurrecting a name used for the lighter military-grade Land Rover produced from 1968 until 1984.

It's also been speculated the baby Defender will be the first Land Rover model to be sold under a new sub-brand under which the British off-road brand will market cheaper SUVs.