After more than 60 years as one of the most recognisable faces of British motoring, the Landrover Defender is finally getting a makeover, it has been announced.
Since 1948 caravan lovers and outdoor enthusiasts alike have been turning to the Defender for its rugged off-road abilities and workhorse-like reliability, but the times they are a-changing and Landrover has confirmed that the DC100 concept (pictured right) is the way forward.
Due to be unveiled at this month’s Frankfurt Motor Show, this sculpted bodyshape bears a much closer resemblance to the Land Rover Discovery than the Defender and reactions to the new design are sure to be mixed.
Traditionalists will argue that this new model completely abandons the utilitarian look of the outgoing Defender, but caravan owners will be most interested in the new model’s reliability and towing power.
To this end, the BBC’s Jorn Madslien has claimed that the new Defender will have to be cheaper and better quality than its key rivals in order to compete in emerging markets, when it is launched in 2015.
Gerry McGovern, Director of Design at Land Rover, said: “Replacing the iconic Defender is one of the biggest challenges in the automotive design world; it is a car that inspires people worldwide.
“This isn’t a production-ready concept but the beginning of a four-year journey to design a relevant Defender for the 21st century.”
The Defender began life in the aftermath of World War Two as the original and definitive Land Rover, picking up its moniker after the launch of the Discovery in the 1990s.
Such is the reliability of this sturdy 4×4 that an estimated two-thirds of the 1.8million made so far are still in use today.
