Land Rover gives aging Defender a little TLC
Neville Contractor :: 14 August 2006 :: Filed under SUV, Land Rover, Land Rover Defender, Europe & UK
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All-new model not due until 2010
Ford Motor Company’s balance sheet may be boring its way inexorably to the earth’s core. But the Blue Oval does have one brand that’s still pulling in a few pounds: Land Rover. The launch of the second-gen Freelander, the new Rangie Sport HST and new, more powerful diesel engines in the Range Rover prove that the boys from Solihull are busy. Now they have turned to the elderly Land Rover Defender, which is in desperate need of a mojo injection.
Autocar mag has bagged a few snaps of what appears to be a heavily revised Defender. The piccies aren’t hugely detailed, but it’s clear that the car’s core architecture and coachwork is largely a carry over. The biggest exterior change is a small bonnet hump which accommodates a new 2.2 diesel engine lifted from the Transit van. It pushes out a modest 128bhp and a slightly more impressive 228lb ft of torque. It’s a plausible replacement for the non-Euor4-compliant TD5 lump, but we can only pray that more powerful alternatives will be also offered.
It’s inside where the full on ‘changing-rooms’ makeover has occurred, however. The '83 vintage dash and dials have been defenestrated in favour of an assembly pinched from the new Freelander 2. Even mere mortals, therefore, have a fighting chance of fathoming the ventilation controls and perhaps even locating the stereo. Whether it will be as hosepipe-friendly to farmers and their sheep remains to be seen.
Time will also tell whether these changes will keep the venerable Defender competitive during the long wait for an all-new model, not due until at least 2010. Still, Land Rover shifts 25,000 Defenders a year - not too shabby when you realise that the absence of airbags makes the lucrative US market an no-go area. It’s also enough units to ensure profitability – an extremely rare commodity in the crumbling Ford empire.
Linkage:
Autocar
Posted 17 January 2007, by Jhony.Q
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