2020 Land Rover Defender - A Legend Reborn
After years of development, months of testing and hundreds of spyshots, Land Rover has finally unveiled the next iteration of their iconic Land Rover Defender. After 1,200,000-kilometers of rigorous testing in some of the toughest environments of the world, the new Defender seeks to live up to the legacy set by its predecessor.
Land Rover has kept the square, boxy overall shape of the Defender, along with the flat bonnet. The overall stance is more upright, and the side-hinged rear tailgate with the mounted spare wheel from the original Defender makes its way into the new model. The new LED head and taillights give the new Defender a revolutionary modern appearance. "We have created the new Defender to ensure it is ready for anything, with a design that has been inspired by the past, not constrained by it," said Gerry McGovern, Chief Design Officer at Land Rover. "It’s elemental grille, sophisticated surfacing and commanding stance give the entire family a modernity and confidence that set it apart, while simultaneously retaining the essential elements that make a Defender so recognizable."
The Defender looks very compact in photos, but the dimensions couldn’t be further from that. The Land Rover Defender 110 boasts a length of 5,02-meters with the spare wheel, a height of 1,97-meters, a width of 2,1-meters wide and a wheelbase of 3,02-meters. A more compact model called the Defender 90 will also be available, and it boasts a length of 4,58-meters with the spare wheel, a height of 1,97-meters, a width of 2,1-meters wide and a wheelbase of 2,59-meters.
Land Rover says that the architecture of the new Defender is 95% new, and features a lightweight aluminium monocoque setup. The result is a stiffer, more rigid body structure that also offers support for either air or coil suspensions along with support for an electric powertrain. This will allow Land Rover Defender customers to tailor their vehicles to suit their urban or off-road needs. Speaking of off-roading, the new Defender offers 29,2cm of ground clearance and a maximum wading depth of 90,4cm. It also features a maximum towing capacity of 3720-kilograms.
There are currently two engines available on the new Land Rover Defender. The Defender 110 P300 is powered by a turbocharged 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine that produces 221kW of power and 400Nm of torque. The P300 will do 0-100km/h in 7,7-seconds before reaching its top speed of 192km/h. A more powerful P400 model will feature a 3.0-litre turbocharged 6-cylinder engine, supplemented by a mild hybrid electric boost system to produce 295kW of power and 550Nm, accelerating from 0-100km/h in 5,8-seconds. The Defender 90 will also employ the P400 powertrain, but will accelerate to 100km/h in 5,7-seconds before reaching its top speed of 208km/h. An 8-speed automatic transmission is standard across the range.
