Photo: Land Rover
To be sold in the United States in addition to the United Kingdom and European Union, the 2020 Land Rover Defender has been confirmed to arrive in China next year. The off-road utility vehicle will come with “China-specific features," and we wouldn’t be surprised if that includes a few Internet-related restrictions.
The Great Firewall of China is one of the culprits for sure, but beyond that, not even Automotive News Europe can imagine what Land Rover refers to. During a presentation to investors, the Defender has been confirmed with conventional, mild-hybrid, and plug-in hybrid options.
Customers in the market for the Defender PHEV will have to wait a little longer, and regardless of market, the newcomer will be manufactured in Nitra, Slovakia alongside the Discovery. Quite shocking to find out the Defender isn’t made in the United Kingdom, isn’t it?
The secret to electrification is the Modular Longitudinal Architecture, which Land Rover will utilize in the next generation of the Range Rover as well. Capable of complete electrification, Land Rover could be tempted to roll out the Defender EV at some point in the future.
On the suck-squeeze-bang-blow front, the most interesting engine we can expect from the Defender is the Ingenium inline-six. The mild-hybrid option in the Range Rover Sport HST develops 400 ponies, which are enough for a vehicle the size and weight of the Defender.
As opposed to the Jeep Wrangler, Toyota Land Cruiser, and Mercedes-Benz G-Class, the 2020 Land Rover Defender will switch from a body-on-frame design to unibody. The British automaker did it before with the Discovery, and nobody cared about the change except for a few purists.
The previous Defender went out of production in 2016, and if you’re keeping count, the original was launched 71 years ago. Then called the Series, the off-road vehicle was conceived by Rover during the aftermath of World War II. Chief designer Maurice Wilks envisioned a light agricultural vehicle, but little did he know the Defender would morph into a luxurious SUV seven decades later.
Customers in the market for the Defender PHEV will have to wait a little longer, and regardless of market, the newcomer will be manufactured in Nitra, Slovakia alongside the Discovery. Quite shocking to find out the Defender isn’t made in the United Kingdom, isn’t it?
The secret to electrification is the Modular Longitudinal Architecture, which Land Rover will utilize in the next generation of the Range Rover as well. Capable of complete electrification, Land Rover could be tempted to roll out the Defender EV at some point in the future.
On the suck-squeeze-bang-blow front, the most interesting engine we can expect from the Defender is the Ingenium inline-six. The mild-hybrid option in the Range Rover Sport HST develops 400 ponies, which are enough for a vehicle the size and weight of the Defender.
As opposed to the Jeep Wrangler, Toyota Land Cruiser, and Mercedes-Benz G-Class, the 2020 Land Rover Defender will switch from a body-on-frame design to unibody. The British automaker did it before with the Discovery, and nobody cared about the change except for a few purists.
The previous Defender went out of production in 2016, and if you’re keeping count, the original was launched 71 years ago. Then called the Series, the off-road vehicle was conceived by Rover during the aftermath of World War II. Chief designer Maurice Wilks envisioned a light agricultural vehicle, but little did he know the Defender would morph into a luxurious SUV seven decades later.
Google News