Land Rover to launch new Defender "family"

Breakthrough details have been revealed on the upcoming Land Rover Defender, due in showrooms globally from 2020.

Citing internal documents, British publication Autocar reports the Defender will be expanded into a “family” of vehicles in next-generation form, covering a spectrum of variants that will be anchored by robust off-roaders and rise through to lavish, well-equipped flagships.

In all, there will be a three-door short-wheelbase, five-door long-wheelbase and conventional utility on offer, plus the prospect of a three-door variant with a removable hard-top, the Brit mag reports.

Under the plan, which breaks some of the silence observed by Land Rover since it showed the polarising DC100 concept in 2011, the Defender will become a fully-fledged sub-brand that will be headlined by distinctive styling separate from the familiar Range Rover lineage.

The British off-road brand’s original and most iconic model has been out of production for almost two years, but its revolutionary replacement is deep in development with some seismic change.

The Defender will be based on an all-aluminium MLA (Modular Longitudinal Architecture), says Autocar, offering a lightweight construction that will be supported by a suite of electronic chassis controls.

The fresh underpinnings and technology will purportedly support Land Rover’s ambitions of making the Defender the most capable off-roader on sale.

The garden-variety Defender family is set to employ a variety of drivetrains extending from mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants paired with JLR’s existing four-cylinder petrol engines, through to full electric variants.

Further up the food chain, Land Rover will offer a choice of its new straight-six Ingenium engines in varying tunes.

Each Defender model will offer permanent all-wheel drive as standard, along with automatic transmissions.

Land Rover is expected to give the first official glimpse of the next-gen off-roader in 2019.