New model Defender Project begins

[sashadidi]

Found on the internet
New Defender project begins - Autocar.co.uk (http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/256565/)

[alittlebitconcerned]

Anyone game? :D

[Deefa]

Ah yes, We all new this would happen get rid of all the things people buy a Defender for.

-Iconic ageless look (the modern new look, looks great until they bring out the newer version in a couple of years then it looks dated)
-Beam axles for simply unmatched off road ability
-philosophy of uncomplicated do it your self maintenance ( even though lately this has been more of a perception than reality)
-Straight simple panels that invite all those modifications you can do yourself
and it adds value rather than detracts.
-high resale because of point 1 above

Why cant they build a Defender that.

Is a retro look, something like they did with the new mini ie relates to the old model BUT

Has doors that actually seal
better seating positions so that you dont drive next to the B pillar
A slightly wider body so there is more room for wider doors and more seating room
Panels that line up somewhat better than the old ones
Stronger diff centres , axles and CVs long been the weak link in defenders
nice strong chassis as it is mostly now.

I know its a dream but look at some of the other manufactures now days. Some of the jeeps I hate to say it are looking pretty appealing. One of my mates has one with factory user selectable F and R diff locks!

No there going to make a cheaper disco and call it a Defender.

[Homestar]

Looks like a bloody ugly cross between a Disco and Freelander. As Deefa says, it will be a cheaper version of the Disco, with a few cosmetic changes. Talk about loosing the plot....

[isuzutoo-eh]

Woah there people,
What you see is an artist's impression. It is nothing like what will come out at the end.
Most of these artist's impressions aren't even from Land Rover themselves! These sketches, renders, 3D models are usually from STUDENTS! Just about every Industrial Design student in Australia has to revamp a car as part of their degree! Not everyone does sports cars...in my class there was a jeep, some minivans, a few motorbikes as well as the usual lotus crossed with toyota crossed with chev POS. I did the Series 2 and made it look so crap I destroyed the drawings!

Quit basing your expectations on the figment of someone else's imagination!

Read what is written in the article! It is going to be utilitarian. It is going to come in an array of body configurations.
Look at the present Defender range. NINE CONFIGURATIONS are available. Look at that crappy sketch! It will not translate into 9 different formats! It won't translate into any more that what is shown!

Land Rover won't release sketches of what it will look like till it is ready to test the prototypes, if ever. LR won't want the competition to know what it will look like! They might release one or two sketches along the way, they'll be to throw you off the scent...
Secret squirelly business and all that.


Finally, have some faith that the crowd that brought the reliable, award winning and not all that ugly D3 and D4 and has the nerve to NOT just drop the Defender, might actually get it right!

:wallbash::wallbash::wallbash:

/End rant.

[series3]

I did the Series 2 and made it look so crap I destroyed the drawings!

You can't improve upon perfection Mark!

[isuzutoo-eh]

You can't improve upon perfection Mark!

Totally agree on that one!

[Deefa]

Ok I admit its a bit unfair to judge the new defender just on a concept sketch.

But... They will have to appeal to the general public out there who DONT buy Defenders now. They dont really care for the enthusiasts that are likely to keep their 30 year old land Rover. (like the article says they sold 18,000 last year which is nothing) So they have to make it more appealing for the masses like the Landcrusier did when they put in independent suspension based on customer complaints about body roll. Most people who buy a 4wd never take it off road. Its only about selling the dream.
Arb knows this, as when the 4wd assoc tried to get support in keeping tracks open they pointed out that if all the tracks were closed nobody would need 4wd equipment. The attitude was that their market research showed that most people never actually use the gear anyway- its about selling the dream.

[isuzutoo-eh]

Will it be aimed at the general public who already aren't interested in a vehicle like the Defender, or will it be aimed squarely at the mines, the pastoralists, emergency services, relief agencies, utility companies, military...
The LR range already covers the general public private owner pretty well, the D4 for suburban esacpists, RRS for the poseur and fast living set, full fat RR for the million dollar crowd, FL2 for soccer mums and Evoque for dual income no kids. What does LR miss out on? The tradies and out of townies, and at the furthest reaches of the inconsequential part of the market bell curve, the current defender driving touring and weekend warrior enthusiast crowd-which happens to also have the Troopie and JK Jeep in the same small market segment. Feel small? Our segment is. The dream that ARB and others sell, has to be lived with, for many people the Defender can't be. Hence D4s and Jackaroos exist.

Sell a hard working robust and safe vehicle to the commercial/industrial users, that'll push tradies to be exposed to them by force and maybe collect a few sales along the way, but expect the bulk of sales to go to traditional LR users as I listed in the first paragraph. It is that market, the can't live without it market, that'll be the source of neo-Defender sales. Same as the pov pack G Wagens as I understand it.

[weeds]

hopefully they will drop defender from its name..........

[jakeslouw]

We can only hope that there is enough market pressure from government departments, tradesmen, power / telecoms and other utility companies, etc etc world wide to make it worth their while to still produce a utility vehicle.

Otherwise Toyota is going to simply make a killing.

Nobody else except Toyota offers a quality utility pickup and utility wagons and station-wagons (Land Cruiser LC70 series: 76, 78 and 79) on the same basic light/medium platform: this combination within a fleet is extremely important, purely from the point of single procurement, single resupply, maintenance and driver skilling, spares stock on hand, etc etc.

The Defender WAS filling this gap: 110 pickup, HiCap pickup, hardtop, station wagon and DC.
130 special builds, DC and pickups.
It's a great range and offers a lot of great combinations.

Nobody else offers this combination. It'll be a shame if LR / Tata drops the concept.

Granted, the lifestyle bunch are too small to make a difference, and face it, we must all be warped to actually ENJOY having our right shoulders mashed while we have our left legs mashed.......

But the Series LR was originally a working man's tool, and that's what I still want: a tool, and utility item. I want to drive through the bush and simply wipe dust and bark and plant sap off the bull-bar later. I don't want to wail and gnash my teeth because my paint job is stuffed.

Face it, we're witnessing the end of an era, and those in the know better buy up any and all old Deefers they can still find and afford. We won't see the like come our way ever again.

[Nero]

Maybe they can see someone as Isuzu and get the motor and gearbox from the current 300 to fit or better yet the 550 :twisted: or at least make it an option for the HCPU versions. Most mine sites require at least drivers airbags to all vehicles done right they can probably make some serious inroads but they will have to have, a proper cyclonic airfilter/donaldson style or similar and a really big water trap. the landcruisers are trading on name at the moment and they are about 25k more than a defender. So say if they got into the market for 10-15k less than a cruiser with a much better vehicle they'd be on a winner.

Although the one dealer here and there trying to make landrover exclusive thing would have to go even if they had defender only dealers, maybe attached to Isuzu dealers.

[ramblingboy42]

This is interesting.....a 5yo thread pops up with no new posts...except mine.

Nothing's changed though , has it Ethel?

[Toxic_Avenger]

The sub forum... L660 Defender looks to be new.

I don't keep up with this stuff, so who knows if legit or not :confused:
Maybe we can turn this thread into a philosophical debate about the defender as well! Great for ratings!

[ramblingboy42]

What? another one? hahahaha.

[Svengali0]

The sub forum... L660 Defender looks to be new.

I don't keep up with this stuff, so who knows if legit or not :confused:
Maybe we can turn this thread into a philosophical debate about the defender as well! Great for ratings!


yeah.. I'm curious. A bit pessimistic. Plastic electronic control boxes, endless sensors and solenoids, endless delicate little things that break and fail.

I'm afraid that's what happened to the Hilux and the Cruiser- more power more refinement. Word from some of the out back users (of the toys) is that they will travel long distance to find a good older model and make that last. The newer ones don't. Sometimes, they are left where they break. You have to retrieve the thing to get the warranty work done. Places they go, if it doesn't drive out, it stays and becomes landscape...

[ramblingboy42]

What rubbish Svengali.

I know many "outback users" who update their hiluxes and cruisers on a regular basis with the latest models. They have no more problems with them using as they were designed to be used than any other vehicle.

In fact, some of them say there are less problems on the new models than the old ones.

I would be interested in knowing about the ones that are left where they break.

Anyway this thread is an old thread about Defenders not Toyotas.

[MrLandy]

That article was written in 2011. Nothing the author wrote has come true. ...Don't believe anything that JLR say about a replacement Defender. Defender is finished. JLR have secretly given up on designing a new Defender IMO. It doesn't fit their market focus, which is now 100% on the luxury SUV market (and has been for years when you think about it).

[Disco Muppet]

Well you know what the third tenant of Wabi Sabi is....
Nothing lasts...

Sent from my HTC One using AULRO mobile app

[gofish]

Looks like one of those Jeeps side-on

[blackrangie]

That article was written in 2011. Nothing the author wrote has come true. ...Don't believe anything that JLR say about a replacement Defender. Defender is finished. JLR have secretly given up on designing a new Defender IMO. It doesn't fit their market focus, which is now 100% on the luxury SUV market (and has been for years when you think about it).
[emoji23]

[rar110]

The Brexit may have given the Defender project a kick along if it's to be build in Slovakia. Ironically it maybe economically to buy in Europe but out of reach for many Brits.

[Tins]

That article was written in 2011. Nothing the author wrote has come true. ...Don't believe anything that JLR say about a replacement Defender. Defender is finished. JLR have secretly given up on designing a new Defender IMO. It doesn't fit their market focus, which is now 100% on the luxury SUV market (and has been for years when you think about it).

I don't know, you may be right, but here is a much more recent article, penned by Georg Kacher, a very well respected motoring scribe.

Deep Dive: All-New 2019 Land Rover Defender: An Icon, Reinvented (http://www.automobilemag.com/news/deep-dive-all-new-2019-land-rover-defender-an-icon-reinvented/)

[ramblingboy42]

[COLOR="Navy"]that particular article is nearly 18mths old and all of those scenarios have been played here in Aulro so many times now.

Even JLR have scrapped those vehicle ideas like that.

When the time is right we will ALL hear what is in the wings.

Until then everything that any well known motoring journalist writes is simply a story to get a circulation boost in their magazine/newspaper.

JLR have released NOTHING for any journalist in the world to base a news item upon.

[MrLandy]

I don't know, you may be right, but here is a much more recent article, penned by Georg Kacher, a very well respected motoring scribe.

Deep Dive: All-New 2019 Land Rover Defender: An Icon, Reinvented (http://www.automobilemag.com/news/deep-dive-all-new-2019-land-rover-defender-an-icon-reinvented/)

Pure fantasy. Ugly too.

[Disco-tastic]

Quite ugly. Looks like a Chinese copy...

I think the overall proportions are ok tho. Just needs to incorporate circular lights and a different nose..

Cheers

Dan

[Didge]

It's a decoy! (I hope)

[blackrangie]

It's a decoy! (I hope)
Its fantasy, nobody outside of landrover knows what it is going to look like yet

[Didge]

Totally agree - I reckon if anyone dared spill the beans, there'd be a huge bounty on their head.

[DiscoMick]

I like it.

Sent from my GT-P5210 using AULRO mobile app

[MrLandy]

I like it.

He he...good on you Mick 😊