Back in spring, the new-age-posh L663 Land Rover Defender was across the news for many good reasons. Then, afterward, silence reigned. Well, that kind of treatment must stop, at least virtually

For example, in May, our always eager spy photographer partners captured a 2023 or 2024 Land Rover Defender looking all SVR when clad in camouflage and quite happy to make our acquaintance, as it lifted a wheel on the Nürburgring Nordschleife! But then, Land Rover surprised us a little bit and chose to first unveil the 2023 Defender 130 with seating for eight.

Even though it had no V8 engine option, it was still capable of taking the owner and seven of its close ones on all sorts of adventures – from rock climbing to mall crawling. Alas, silence followed afterward, which is all too dreadful, save for the occasional marketing gimmick. For example, such as the time when the Defender was said to become the moving heart of the Women’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand (October 8 through November 12).

Anyway, luckily for Land Rover Defender fans, the virtual automotive artists are relentless. So, here is the pixel master tucked behind Larson Design (aka lars_o_saeltzer on social media), who brought to life (for AutoExpress) his CGI vision of how Land Rover will make a Defender 130 useful and then decided that we should all enjoy it from the comfort of his social media reel. Not bad, frankly.

This is simply because the 2023 Land Rover Defender 130 dropped the family pretense and morphed into a veritable workhorse by way of a pickup truck transformation. And it is one complete with differently-colored tarps, with traditional white ‘steelies’ or ritzy, modern alloys, as well as the cool white top that everyone from the off-road world seems to love so much. So, does it get a CGI hall pass, or not?

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Remember when the Defender was anything but a soccer mom’s lux barge? Renamed from Ninety and One Ten to Defender 90 and Defender 110 for the 1991 model year, the body-on-frame overlanded also received a lot of publicity that same year thanks to the Tanzania-Burundi Camel Trophy.

Chassis number SALLDHMF7HA470214 is a genuine Camel Trophy car, namely the communications unit from the Tanzania-Burundi event. Repainted a few years ago, the no-nonsense truck had its outriggers repaired in 2020. The frame was treated with POR-15 rust-preventing coating in 2021, then refinished in black. Replacement panels were fitted under previous ownership, yet this truck still wears a few battle scars with pride.

Rolled over during the Camel Trophy, the Defender 110 in the featured clip shows minor finish imperfections, cracked weather-stripping, rust on the doors, a little bubbling here and there, and the usual wear and tear on the inside. The seller also notes that the rear wiper sprayer is presently kaput.

Pictured on Michelins wrapped around body-color steelies, the Landy is offered on Bring a Trailer with a non-functional rear passenger window. Backed up by a clean Carfax report and a clean North Carolina title in the seller’s name, this truck also comes with old UK registration documents.

A British Motor Industry Heritage Trust Certificate also needs to be highlighted, along with period campaign pics and a roof basket full of whatnots. Equipped with a snorkel and Hella driving lights, the Landy had its axles overhauled, suspension arms repaired, and shocks replaced in the past year. The bushings, brake rotors, calipers, and pads were also replaced for extra peace of mind. A right-hand-drive example of the breed, the British workhorse had its timing belt replaced in the United Kingdom in 2020. The driveshaft was also replaced, and the seller notes a reinforced rear door.

Powered by the tried-and-tested 200 Tdi 2.5-liter turbo diesel, this amazing piece of Land Rover history is currently going for $65,000 on Bring a Trailer. The online auction ends tomorrow, August 26th, at 8:05 pm.

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Land Rover fitted a V8 in the new Defender, and it is a supercharged 5.0-liter motor that pumps out 518 horsepower (525 PS) and 461 lb-f. (625 Nm) of torque to go along with the massive power figure. It is no secret that the result is fairly quick, but the time has come to see one go flat out on a section of unrestricted highway in Germany.

As you will observe, the growl of the supercharged V8 is just what the doctor ordered for the most powerful production Land Rover Defender to date. While its owner will have to decide regarding their intentions with the vehicle every time they order new tires, it may be a sacrifice that many will make since they have gone for the V8 option.

If we are being too vague here, the idea is that the best tires for off-roading are the worst for on-road driving, especially in high-speed situations, as well as in conditions that require the best possible grip on asphalt.

In many cases, off-road specialized tires are great at their main job, but terrible in other situations, and this includes wet roads, where hydroplaning will be the norm.

Attempting to drive an off-roader with the described tires on the highway will result in more noise than most are comfortable with, and it will also have a disturbing effect on the braking distances of their vehicles. The sad part is that some people are not aware of this, which means that they are putting themselves, as well as others, at risk while driving on the road at near highway speeds with their off-road tires.

When opting for the best possible behavior on the road, the described vehicles with road-focused tires will have to leave most of their off-roading ambitions for the day when they are suited with the according tires.

Road-focused tires will gather dirt, sand, or mud too quickly, which will lead to the vehicle becoming stuck once their grooves are full and the driver makes a mistake in their off-roading activity. It is that simple.

With that being written, this is what a Defender V8 sounds like when someone takes it for a couple of acceleration tests, as well as a top speed run on the German autobahn.

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Never on top of quality control and assurance, the Jaguar Land Rover group doesn’t bear the blame for recall campaign 22V-523. On this occasion, the culprit is a Swedish-American automotive supplier by the name of Autoliv, a company we’ve covered on numerous occasions in our recalls category.

On May 25th, the supplier notified Jaguar Land Rover of a defect identified during the manufacturing process of the front seatbelt pretensioners used in certain SUVs. The defect comes in the guise of damaged front seatbelt pretensioner tubes installed on the seatbelt retractor. This apparently insignificant component prevents the pretensioner from correctly operating by not pretensioning the seatbelt in the event of an accident. Understandably, reduced or no pretensioning increases the risk of injury.

Autoliv presented the issue to the automaker’s Product Safety and Compliance Committee on June 1st, which led to investigations at the Nitra assembly plant in Slovakia, Halewood in the UK, and Solihull in the UK as well. The PSCC subsequently progressed the issue to the Recall Determination Committee in July, which determined that all of the suspect seatbelt pretensioners need to be inspected and – if damaged – replaced.

Dealers will inspect and replace the driver and front-passenger assemblies, as necessary, from September 16th onward. Suspect vehicles are split between the 2022 to 2023 model year Land Rover Defender, Discovery, Discovery Sport, Ranger Rover Sport, and Range Rover Velar. 145 units of the Velar are recalled, along with 2,869 units of the Range Rover Sport.

The Discovery Sport numbers 427 copies, the Discovery is listed with 245 examples, and the Defender is affected to the tune of 1,241 units. The subpar seatbelt pretensioners were produced at an Autoliv facility in Hungary.

Rather than waiting for envelopes to arrive by first-class mail, owners can alternatively contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Those peeps who prefer to keep it simple can always use the VIN look-up tool on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website.

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