New Defender rumours

I expect it'll use the same platform as the disco3 but beyond that I don't know. I'd personally rather see them produce a mix of the current defender and the current santana, shiny shiny.

Regards. Mark.(AKA, Mr.Nice.)

It will probably be Comfortable. Practical. Economical Less likely to rust. Appeal to female drivers. Easy to get into Be better off road, but only if you know where the button is to do that. Made Cheaper. Cost More Built somewhere like a Craplakistan state

Regards JJ

According to LRO last month (underground Disco on cover) a clay mock up of said new Defender is taking shape at Gaydon.

Dom J

The greatest fear will be something of a monocoque, Defender look-alike. Will be the end of an era and the end of the real LR. IMHO If they go that way it will probably be the last model built. Maybe they do not care. There is enough profit in new Rangies and Discos.. Erik-Jan.

Quote from May issue LRO, He (Matthew Taylor, LR managing director) admitted that work on a Defender replacement, based on the same platform as Discovery 3 and Range Rover Sport, had been shelved. The company's highest priority at the moment is the second generation Freelander, due in the second half of 2006. That means the replacemant Defender project won't come out of mothballs until some time next year.............even if a new odel is launched it is expected that the old model will continue in production abroad for many years to come..........

Read into that what you will !!

Richard

The ladder chassis lives! I wonder if they'll start rebadging santanas? hehehe

Regards. Mark.(AKA, Mr.Nice.)

"Dom J" wrote after

You have to be careful, there is a rumour that Ford are going to produce a small cheap Defender ragtop look-alike using an existing floor pan which will compete with the Suzy Justy etc. A fun style statement recreational vehicle. Styling exercises have been seen.

The new Defender itself is supposed to be on the T5 chassis of the new Disco and RR Sport but it's an off and on project as Ford have other priorities. I understand they are having problems keeping production costs down, considering all the body permutations available now which they want to continue. As it's sold mostly as a business tool they do need these different types.

Another problem for them is the British Army which seems to be ordering other vehicles.

Personally I think the production will have to go abroad, somewhere cheaper, maybe China or even Malaysia.

i.e Not a Defender and a waste of space :-(

Richard

Lets hope the above is true! I have no hope that current designers have any idea in what ways Defenders are used, so the longer the real ones stay in production the better!

Richard

I was under the impression that the Army have to all intents and purposes dumped Land Rover, or more likely the reverse since the volumes they require are far too low to justify meeting their special requirements, and every recent major export order for military Land Rovers has been blocked by the Government.

At current volumes I can't see Ford stumping up the cash for a move. Since the Land Rover brand is now firmly entrenched in the toy 4x4 market, I expect Ford are just hoping Defender will fade away to be replaced by an exciting yuppie toy that couldn't do a decent days work but plays on Defender heritage.

IMO of course....

Richard

On or around Thu, 31 Mar 2005 07:54:55 +0000 (UTC), beamendsltd enlightened us thusly:

nemmind, we can all buy Santanas instead.

since they're using Iveco engines, Ford already indirectly have a stake in it... wonder if Ford will buy Santana?

So are there many pickup style Defenders in the UK?

One of the reasons I asked originally about body styles was that in Australia it seems that Land Rover has stopped importing any of the 110 wheelbase pickups. Judging from what I see on the roads here, 110 station wagons predominate by a very margin, followed by 130 crew cabs, and then a long long way back are the 110, 130 single cabs and Defender 90's.

I've read some rumours on the Aussie Land Rover boards that they were thinking about dropping the entire Defender utility range for Australia, retaining only the 110 station wagon. So that was why I was wondering if Land Rover had made any public comment about what body styles we might expect in a new Defender - assuming it reaches production.

I hope they do produce a new Defender, including some utilty style versions, as I'm very attached to my single cab Defender.

They're the most popular models around here - 90 pickups with Ifor Williams top covers are pretty well everywhere.

90 hardtops are the next most common, then it's pretty much of a muchness between the other different variations. But then this is an area where a high proportion of new Defenders go to farmers. It'll be different in other parts.

On or around Thu, 31 Mar 2005 14:00:52 GMT, "dave" enlightened us thusly:

lots of 90 pickups, the farmers seem to favour 'em as trailer tugs. Also, you can put smelly stuff in the back and be in a different compartment. The only thing against the 90 as a tractor unit is its short rear overhang - the

110 is just as good for reversing thanks to a longer overhang; the disco is better still.

In message , JJ writes

And called a Ranger?