finalised - new Defender

[Michael2]

lifted from the following link :

Land Rover Defender Replacement

As Land Rover’s Defender edges closer to extinction in its current British-built form, company bosses have reportedly declared that the final shape for the new version has been locked-in.

And a report from British mag Autocar appears to confirm a rumour that began a few months back regarding the Land Rover DC100 Concept from 2011 – the new model will look nothing like it.

The DC100 was unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show and was supposed to preview the Defender’s eventual replacement.

Land Rover designers have reportedly moved away from the DC100’s styling for the all-new model, but exactly what direction they have taken instead is unclear.

The report says the new shape won’t be a direct replacement for the current Defender, as sales for the sixty-plus year-old design in recent times have largely been driven by the knowledge it will soon be unavailable.



To make the Defender economically viable, Land Rover will likely aim for a much broader appeal in the all-new model while maintaining much of its predecessor’s off-road ability.

While the new design may be locked-in, a definitive date for the last example to roll off the production line has not with ‘the end of 2015’ being the only clue.

The focus for Land Rover bosses will now reportedly shift to ‘the gap’ between the end of the current model and the introduction of the new version, as the carmaker appears cautious to avoid crashing the Defender’s going-away party.

Earlier rumours suggested an on-sale date for the all-new Defender of 2019 at the earliest, but global interest in the current model may live on if plans to move production to India for a ‘second life’ become reality.

[Pickles2]

Just more waffle, what if, hearsay, ra ra ra etc etc etc,....BUT NO FACTS.
JLR are doing a GREAT JOB of keeping the secret.
Pickles.

[solmanic]

The report says the new shape won’t be a direct replacement for the current Defender, as sales for the sixty-plus year-old design in recent times have largely been driven by the knowledge it will soon be unavailable.

Perhaps one of the cleverest automotive marketing strategies ever. The longer they keep up the uncertainty and threaten us with how different the new Defender will be, the more people scramble to buy the current model. Now let's wait and see if this looming "gap" between current & new Defender actually happens. I wouldn't be surprised if they find a way of scraping another 18 months out of the current model with more emissions fiddling. This way they can keep the panic buying frenzy going.

And then... the "new" Defender will come out and, if it is anything like the 2002 Range Rover, it will (optimistically) be better than the original in nearly every way and still look like a Defender and all those people who rushed to buy old "classic" Defenders will be left wishing they waited a few months...


...or it will be a piece of absolute over-designed crap and no-one will want to touch it with a bargepole.

[DiscoMick]

There's a reason it doesn't sell so well any more - most people's requirements have changed.
If their aim really is to outsell the Hilux, as Gerry McGovern was quoted as saying, then a whole new vehicle range is required, which will upset the traditionalists, but I guess LR hopes to laugh all the way to the bank.
If they are still making a profit screwing the current Defender together, then shifting its production to India should keep it profitable for a long time. There are 50 year old British cars still running around in India.