It’s time to stop pestering Land Rover with your next-gen Defender concept art. According to a report from Autocar, the British marque has put the final touches on the design of the upcoming Defender reboot. And if that news doesn’t get the diehard Defender crowd nervous, well – it should.
First launched in 1983, the 31-year-old Land Rover Defender most certainly won’t keep its retro looks when it breaks cover in the coming years.
But on the flip side, it won’t end up looking like the company’s DC100 and DC100 Sport concepts (pictured here) from 2011, either.
The concepts, which debuted at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, were used to address the gorilla in the room – that the brand’s oldest and arguably most recognizable model was due for a significant redesign. Since then, the company has gauged consumer response and allegedly proceeded down a different route.
However to the chagrin of many, company insiders affirm that its successor won’t be a direct replacement for the aging Land Rover, which has kick-started an interesting battle between staying true to history and driving sales in the future.
Financially, the move makes perfect sense. The Defender hasn’t contributed significant profitability to the brand in recent years. Though to its worldwide fan base, it represents the ideological pillar of the Land Rover brand.
At any rate, the new family of utilitarian Defender vehicles will position itself separately from Land Rover’s two other families (the luxury Ranger Rover and mid-range Discovery). Sales goals will likely target at least 50,000 units per year to secure viable economic footing.
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