The styling of the upcoming Land Rover Defender, one of the most important launches for the British automaker in recent years, has been reportedly signed off.
Land Rover is said to have “frozen” the final shape of the next-generation Defender, with the company saying the new car looks very different from the DC100 and DC100 Sport concept vehicles shown in 2011. The design of the production model reportedly retains the simplicity of the concepts but is more adventurous.
The DC concepts were released with the specific intention of testing customers’ reactions about a future Defender, Land Rover’s oldest and most iconic model, and sparked controversy and debate among Land Rover traditionalists all over the world.
While the new Defender will be different from the DC100 studies (pictured), Land Rover says it won’t be a direct replacement for the current Defender either, which is scheduled to end production in late 2015. Executives are currently discussing what launch date would be better for the new Defender.
They are also debating the opportunity of Land Rover building a concept car that would preview the production model and give the management an idea about how the public would receive it. According to industry experts, the new Land Rover Defender would have to generate annual sales of more than 50,000 units in order to be profitable for the company.
Story references: Autocar
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