The Land Rover family has expanded these past few years to include different models that bear the Range Rover and Discovery badges.
The former includes the classic Range Rover, Sport, Velar and Evoque, while the latter counts the Discovery and smaller Discovery Sport. So, is something similar planned for the all-new Defender?
WhichCar “believes” so, reporting that the Defender nameplate could be used on future vehicles. Now, before you wet your blades, their entire articles bolts down to this belief: “we’re led to believe that Land Rover is working on a new, shorter wheelbase derivative of its aluminium architecture to underpin new models for Range Rover and Defender.”
Okay, that’s not convincing, so we’re not taking that report very seriously and neither should you, but truth to be told, Autocar, which is a far more reliable medium, especially when it comes to local industry news, had reported back in December that a ‘baby’ version of the Defender was under consideration. It added that this small SUV, which may (or may not) drop the Defender moniker and be marketed aptly as the Land Rover 80, could arrive with a starting price or around £25,000 (about $31,500) in the UK.
In that same report, we were told that it could be based on a “new platform that Land Rover calls the D10 and parent firm Tata dubs the Omega-Arc (for Optimal Modular Efficient Global Advanced Architecture)” being a shortened and cheaper version of the firm’s modular aluminum platform. Surprisingly, but possibly explaining the thought of skipping the ‘Defender’ moniker, it would be front-wheel driver with four-wheel drive offered as an option.
Read More: This ‘Baby’ Land Rover Defender SUV Looks Absolutely Perfect
Back to the Australian report, they’re saying that another rumored model is the Defender 130. The bigger SUV is supposedly tipped to share the wheelbase length of the 110, but the rear end might be extended to create more legroom for third-row passengers. The moniker appeared in an alleged leaked document last year, although when asked about it by the Australian publication, an LR spokesperson said that “you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the internet”. What a buzz kill.
A less likely derivative of the new Defender is a pickup truck, as there are supposedly no plans for one, with insiders referring to the Mercedes-Benz X-Class failure when it comes to it, which will be discontinued in May.