If you’ve ever had the opportunity to drive the classic Land Rover Defender on the road, you’d be right to think that it’s, if not the, one of the most outdated new vehicles in the world. Take it for a spin off the road, however, and we’re pretty sure that you will quickly change your mind, which is why the British firm continues to offer a vehicle that can trace its roots back to the original 1948 model.
Still, as capable as it may be when the going gets tough, a replacement is long overdue, which is why Land Rover presented last year’s DC100 Concepts. Until the next Defender is ready, though, Land Rover wants to use the current model as an experimental vehicle to test a new electric powertrain.
At the Geneva Motor Show on March 5, the British brand will showcase seven pure electric Defender research vehicles, which will go into service in “specialist real world trials” later this year.
“This project is acting as a rolling laboratory for Land Rover to assess electric vehicles, even in the most arduous all-terrain conditions,” said Antony Harper, Jaguar Land Rover Head of Research. “It gives us a chance to evolve and test some of the technologies that may one day be introduced into future Land Rover models.”
In place of the standard diesel engine and gearbox in the 110 Defenders, Land Rover’s Advanced Engineering Team mounted a 70kW (94bhp), 330Nm electric motor twinned with a 300-volt, lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 27kWh, which provides a range of more than 50 miles (80 kilometers).
Land Rover says in typical, low speed off-road use, the battery can last for up to eight hours before recharging, which can be completed in four hours using a 7kW fast charger, and 10 hours with a portable 3kW charger.
The battery itself weighs 410kg (903 pounds) and is mounted under the hood. All told, the electric Defender 110s weigh approximately 100kg (220 pounds) more than their diesel-powered counterparts, with curb weights ranging from 2,055 kg to 2,162 kg (4,531 to 4,766 lbs), depending whether the body style is a pick-up, hard top or station wagon.
The Defender EVs keep the regular model’s four-wheel drive system and differential lock, while due to the instant and constant peak torque of the electric motor, transmission comprises a single speed, 2.7:1 reduction gearbox. Land Rover has also incorporated a modified version of its Terrain Response System.
Land Rover says during trial runs, the Defender EV successfully pulled “a 12-tonne ‘road train’ up a 13 percent gradient and wading to a depth of 800mm”.
PHOTO GALLERY
