The Land Rover Defender was discontinued in 2016 because of safety reason (they couldn’t even fit the previous Defender with airbags) but we’re about to see a completely revamped and redesigned Defender for the 2020 model year.
A new report surfaced that said the new Defender will come out sometime in the next six months with new and cleaner engines, as well as the extensive use of aluminum on its body. Clearly, the Defender will be targeted to a more upscale market.
We’ve already seen a prototype of the new Defender at the end of 2018. Land Rover was generous enough to provide a batch of pictures of the off-roader’s camouflaged prototype. While we’re not exactly sure if the new Defender will be as boxy as the photos suggest, we do know that it will take after the Discovery model with a slightly higher ride height.
The Defender has always been known for being functional and direct to the point. It’s not a hit or a miss. When people buy a Defender, they know what they’re getting—which is, comfort-wise, means nothing. The Defender was all about performance and functionality, but the 2020 model will change that. This new off-roader hopes to marry function with style and substance and a whole lot of modern tech.
Reports based on Motortrend’s Johnny Lieberman’s Instagram post showed that the Defender would have an independent rear side and an air suspension fitted to it. Though this was not the conditions that the Defender was made for, what could Land Rover do exactly? They may alienate the farmers who really just like a functional Land Rover to roam over their lands, but the new Defender also has a chance to tap a new market and that should be fine.
The fully-independent suspension setup that Mr. Lieberman spied is similar to the one under the Land Rover Discovery. Does that mean we can expect the same 2.0-liter gasoline engines? We only have six months to wait as this one’s scheduled to debut at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show in September. It will go on sale in 2020.
