Another Defender hint?

[manoftaste]

Another blurry shot of the front end of what looks to be the 4-door model.

View attachment 8712

This makes it look like they've made the unfortunate decision to give it similar headlights to the entire rest of the Land Rover model lineup. I had hoped they would keep the round headlights, but that hope was probably misguided.

I personally would be ok with the non-round headlights if the overall design brings the Defender into the modern world but with its own image intact, like the way they had done the Disco 2 to LR3 transition, heritage and lineage was kept there. In fact, the LR3/4 became an icon itself, and we all were hoping to see a nice evolution of LR3, not Disco 2, in the form of D5. Now that says something about a good design.

And thats exactly what they have/had the opportunity for and what they need/needed to do with the Defender. But looking at the undercarriage and its components (same short control arms pulled straight from the siblings, exhaust hanging under the diff, etc.), I am less hopeful with the current crew in charge of the ship. Its pretty clear, they certainly are not interested in this kinda **** anymore. The laziness of recycling parts from the siblings its obvious in the pics. If it was just another model filling a gap in the lineup I would totally respect the recycling of the parts, thats what all makers do to cut costs.

But, this is not a Toyota Camry or an Evoque we are talking about here.

This is, supposedly, the rebirth of their thee most anticipated, thee most sought after, thee most wanted, instantly recognizable top icon. The 'Best 4x4 by Far" that is, right? I mean, when you think of the words "Land Rover", the Defender shape/icon comes to mind, not the Range Rover silhouette. Its an identity in itself. Its not just another "white space" that respected Mr. McGovern is trying to fill, and yet they dont have the will and desire to design specific components for this particular model which they know it will not have any problems selling. But the problem here is that in their desire to milk even the last dollar out of the whole process of creating another model in the lineup, they would like to turn Defender too into a volume sales product and are willing to take chances with something as cherished and iconic as Defender. And with that thought process and prevailing philosophy, our LR4 really had absolutely no shot of surviving let alone being updated, ha.

The display of non-seriousness here about their most recognizable and loved icon that practically put these guys on the map is almost like that LR kinda just dont really want to be part of all that 4x4 nonsense anymore (hence the decision to drop the requirement of having an off road course at the dealerships) but they are really being forced to do so because they either want to milk the last dollar out of that legacy and/or, aside from the obligatory flash/bling/luxury, they really don't have anything else different to offer anymore. So if they got rid of their 4x4 heritage completely, the brand would be just like another diluted anything else in this oversaturated market albeit with much inferior reliability history and track record.

 

[ryanjl]

I personally would be ok with the non-round headlights if the overall design brings the Defender into the modern world but with its own image intact, like the way they had done the Disco 2 to LR3 transition, heritage and lineage was kept there. In fact, the LR3/4 became an icon itself, and we all were hoping to see a nice evolution of LR3, not Disco 2, in the form of D5. Now that says something about a good design.

The fact that they aren't using round headlights tells me this thing is going to be the same as every other vehicle in their lineup, only "boxier."

 

[catman]

LR has clearly stated that their case to even make the Defender at all is that they need to sell more of them and keep costs down. That would entail using many parts across their lineup of vehicles and making it more universal in its design (perhaps a touch softer, but not too much). Until we see it inside and out, there is no way to know what we are getting. There may be three wheel-bases for the Defender based on that photo as it does seem very short.

 

[TheWidup]

There may be three wheel-bases for the Defender

Good.
Shorter = city+off road approachable at a lower cost
Medium= city+off road for those that want a comfy 4/5 seater
Long=for those that really need the cargo/7 seats

 

[manoftaste]

LR has clearly stated that their case to even make the Defender at all is that they need to sell more of them and keep costs down. That would entail using many parts across their lineup of vehicles and making it more universal in its design (perhaps a touch softer, but not too much). Until we see it inside and out, there is no way to know what we are getting. There may be three wheel-bases for the Defender based on that photo as it does seem very short.

Sure, and I do appreciate and understand the idea of sharing parts across the lineup as I mentioned above. I also am aware about LR' stated position.

And certainly parts such as instrument cluster/gauges, buttons/knobs, locking mechanisms, engines/drivetrains, drive shafts/axels, batteries, electronic modules, seats’ parts, trim items, door handles, etc etc, all are sharable and have been shared over the last few years by LR, even certain parts from LR3 making their way into the last of Defenders.

But as I also have mentioned above, when you have something as iconic as a Defender, and specially when you are still banking and relying on your now somewhat irrelevant 4x4 legacy thru your marketing campaigns and such, just for the brand awareness/credibility' sake its not uncommon to make less profit or break even on that one special model in the lineup because its going to pay up for sure in the long run, specially if you are touting that model as the best 4x4 by far, which it certainly has been and for real by far when compared to many of its competitors.

The above could only bring ROI and in more than one way. IMHO, what Projekt Granedier is doing by getting the whole world involved via social media is exactly what LR should have done with their Defender. Defender, not the Projekt Granedier, should have been the "World vehicle" as it already has been.

Just imagine, the kind of mileage that LR would have gotten out of a "Project Defender" if it had initiated such a thing in todays world. Just a clever media/TV campaign alone would have gathered a ridiculous amount of support, branding, and potential all over the planet.

But those type of things happen only if you are not looking at things thru a narrow corporate window of yours with short sightedness of just filling white spaces or making small profit on every asset or anything you own, including the coffeemaker up in your accounting department. It does require a type of vision, and most of all, a real desire by the top leadership to really create something better. Profiting opportunities can be extracted from anything by simply hiring the best minds who are good at what they do and they will find a way for you not lose any money. But if the top leadership' desire is just high revenues and nothing else than the end result/product will never be any better than whats out there, it will simply conform to the rest. I dont have to say much, the quality and the functionality of the current LR lineup says it all. So what if Velar is doing well, competitors may also be doing well, there is nothing really different to write home about.

Also, running exhaust pipes under the rear differential on a supposedly "Best 4x4 By Far" has nothing to do with keeping the costs down, its downright being lazy engineering wise as its not a hard feat to achieve.

But no disagreement there that we have to see it in flesh to really know what’s the deal. It could be something as simple as that the new Defender, aside from being just another revenue generating diluted volume model, is also a quiet attempt as a rebadged evolution of LR4 in order to lure back the lost market in Australia and other parts of the planet.

 

[ryanjl]

LR has clearly stated that their case to even make the Defender at all is that they need to sell more of them and keep costs down. That would entail using many parts across their lineup of vehicles and making it more universal in its design (perhaps a touch softer, but not too much). Until we see it inside and out, there is no way to know what we are getting. There may be three wheel-bases for the Defender based on that photo as it does seem very short.

I believe they've said there will be a truck variant, so there's probably going to be 3 wheelbases just like the 90, 110, and 130 Defenders. Jeep is doing the same, with the JL, JLU, and the new Gladiator.

 

[ryanjl]

More pictures of the 4-door version from earlier this week, this time with a rear-mounted spare.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/...-defender-2020-reborn-4x4-icon-caught-testing

That rear-mounted spare has a wheel different than the other ones. That spare is looking like an 18" wheel.

 

[ryanjl]

And here is a video of it:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrBNRHHDoqk/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

[cperez]

Almost too good to be true, how much it looks like an LR3/4...

 

[Houm_WA]

It's like an even boxier LR3/4. Short wheel base and ability to take the top off and we may be in business!!!