Will Land Rover abandon the Defender?




By Steven J. Ewing
Posted Jul 28th 2011 5:59PM

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The Land Rover Defender may not be sold here in the United States, but its presence in the global automotive marketplace is huge. It's Britain's Wrangler. Much like the Jeep off-roader or even the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen, the Defender's core styling and functionality hasn't changed much over the past few decades, and that's just fine with us. However, it looks like the Defender's candle has the potential to burn out soon, according to Auto Express.

Simply put, Land Rover does not have a concrete plan in place regarding what to do with the Defender. In speaking to Auto Express, the automaker's Colin Green said, "If we get it wrong we are messing up one of the industry's biggest icons, and in that sense it's a tremendous responsibility." We imagine this is why General Motors has taken its sweet time in bringing out the C7 Corvette.

Currently, the Defender is set up to meet Euro V emissions through 2016, but after that, it's unclear what will happen to the British stalwart. One option is to fit cleaner engines under the hood to extend the vehicle's life, and the option of a complete redesign is still being kicked around. Auto Express suggests that an all-new Defender could be built on the same platform as the LR4 and Range Rover Sport, but it would increase cost.

Thankfully, Land Rover says that abandoning the Defender program is its least-preferred option.
News Source: Auto Express