New Land Rover Defender Appears at Frankfurt Motor Show
The iconic Land Rover Defender has undergone a bold rebrand recently. Indeed, readers will recall our coverage of the Goodwood Festival of Speed earlier this year, where a new camouflaged prototype Land Rover Defender made its way up the iconic Hillclimb. Scarcely have our memories of this bold public show of strength faded when the new land Rover Defender appeared at the Frankfurt Motor Show earlier this month.
The brand hasn’t been shy about implementing some of the most severe changes in the vehicles seven-decade history, with an all-new platform with unibody construction, a wide range of engines, increased dimensions and a raft of new assistive technologies.
Three-door 90 and five-door 110 versions of the new Defender have been confirmed, with the 110 recently arriving on the market and the 90 soon to follow.
One body- one big deal!
The shift towards an aluminium unibody platform marks a huge departure for the iconic vehicle which has previously relied on a body on frame construction. While the D7x platform is described as “95% new” it shares some DNA with its cousins the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Land Rover Discovery.
Like its relatives, the new Defender has switched from solid axles to a double-wishbone front suspension with Integral Link independent rear suspension. The 90 offers customers a choice of either air or coil-sprung suspension while the 110 variants exclusively use air suspension.
Land Rover is proud to announce that this is the strongest, stiffest structure ever engineered by the brand with torsional rigidity of 30kNm/Degree which outpaces even the Jaguar E-PACE SUV.
Getting to know the new engines
Of course, while the new platform is big news, readers will be keen to learn more about the wealth of new engines available under the bonnet. Powertrain options will include four- and six-cylinder petrol, as well as the more traditional four-cylinder diesel options. Plugin hybrid options are also expected to come to market next year.
The D200, the entry-level Defender is powered by a 2.0-litre SD4 diesel boasting sequential twin turbos. Drovers can expect an impressive 197bhp and 317lb ft. There is also a more robust D240 version has the same lb ft but ratchets up the bhp to 237.
Petrol variants include the four-cylinder P300 or the six-cylinder P400 MHEV. The former features a single-turbo 2.0-litre Si4 petrol capable of 296bhp and 295lb ft.
The P400 MHEV, however, is a different beast altogether with a 3.0-litre i6 engine with a mild hybrid setup featuring a single turbocharger and a 48-volt electric centrifugal supercharger. These combine to dole out a staggering 395bhp and 406lb ft shattering previous expectations of a Defender’s power and speed.
All drivetrains are supported eight-speed ZF automatic transmission which sends power to all four wheels through its two-speed transfer case.
Learn more at Sinclair Land Rover
At Sinclair Land Rover, we share our customers’ passion for the Land Rover Defender, and their excitement for this new iteration of a familiar classic. If you’d like to discuss this new Defender further, or indeed discuss any of our incredible Land Rover vehicles, Click Here to arrange a test drive.
