Adding to the long list of things to look forward to at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA), Land Rover has announced that a "modern interpretation of the iconic Land Rover Defender" will be taking to the stage in the form of the DC100 Concept. The company has also made clear its intentions to bring a new Defender to market in 2015, but although the DC100 is aimed at stimulating debate about the new model, it remains a work in progress.
"Replacing the iconic Defender is one of the biggest challenges in the automotive design world; it is a car that inspires people worldwide," says Gerry McGovern, Director of Design, Land Rover. "This isn't a production-ready concept but the beginning of a four-year journey to design a relevant Defender for the 21st century."
Anytime you start fiddling with an iconic vehicle like the Defender you are bound to polarize opinion, and this is undoubtedly going to be to be a case in point. We'd love to hear what Defender devotees out there think of this new direction - let us know in the comments.
The DC100 will be unveiled on September 13 ahead of the public opening of the IAA on September 15. Stay tuned for more details.
Cheers,
johnR
Seriously though, it will be a travesty if that\'s the new defender. Defenders are supposed to be ugly and durable. There is nothing right about styling a defender like a mini Honda Element. Failure!
IT WOULD NOT LOOK TOUGH IN AFRICA, ...... ONLY IN SAN FRANCISCO.
THEY ARE DRIFTING AWAY FROM THE BEST DESIGNED SUV\'S ON THE PLANET, TAKE A LOOK AT THE \"EVOQUE\" DESIGN, GREAT TECHNOLOGY BUT WEAK SLOPING ROOF-LINE, IN FACT, IF THE ROOFLINE WAS NOT SO ANGLED, I WOULD BUY ONE TODAY. OTHERWISE THE EVOQUE IS GOOD LOOKING.
NOW THE DEFENDER IS FOLLOWING THE SAME COURSE, PERSUE DESIGN AND FOREGO PRACTICALITY.
LAND ROVER LOOKS LIKE THEY ARE TRYING TOO HARD TO WIN DESIGN AWARDS, INSTEAD OF FOCUSING ON WINNING CUSTOMERS. (*LOOKS JAPANESE)
A) They build a solid off-roader that can easily be serviced, repaired and adapted (e.g. seat/load configuration etc.) at a low cost so that it would be suitable for real work as well as taking the family with bicycles and the dog out on the weekend. That would put it more alongside the Jeep Wrangler, just better (sorry but American cars do not have quite the quality... yet/ever?). You could argue that this type of car is already here in the shape of the Toyota Land Cruiser or Nissan Patrol but really, who takes these (extremely expensive) cars off-road these days and risks some scratches?
B) Then there is the option of making it into lifestyle car like the Mini Cooper just with a bit more off-road heritage. If the price is right that could then be as successful as the Scoda Yeti.
Back to what\'s actually shown here. The here presented car seems to be something which tries to be both and would probably fail as it would be cannibalising the from the Range Rover range or from the Discovery. However there is also a third way instead of one car that does it all why not build two cars (A and B)? This way they would have two new segments in their car range instead of trying to squeeze a model between their existing range. I might even buy both... ;o)