Take an innocent late model classic Land Rover Defender. Add everything you can think of. Then add more, much more. When you’ve finished, add Recaro seats custom-covered in alligator leather. And then a gear lever that first saw service in an Apache helicopter. That begins to tell the story of this most extraordinary of Defenders, ready to tackle any terrain you care to throw at it, with enough power to drop most sports cars at the traffic lights.
The exterior of the Land Rover Defender 110 Twisted bulges with purpose, courtesy of the Land Rover conversion specialists at Twisted, whose work began the transformation from rugged utility to radical brute. Twisted are the go-to experts when it comes to putting extra delight into your classic Defender. This most extreme of examples is finished in industrial Corris Grey metallic with all detailing in black, including the substantial front bull bar and a full set of tools, mounted on the full length roof rack. Off-road tyres are by B F Goodrich. The substantial bonnet bulge is a just a hint of the power that lies beneath.
Open the door to a world of five star off-road comfort. This interior, though, is no sybaritic Range Rover lookalike. It’s more ludicrous than that. Take the freshly installed heated Recaro Sportster CS seats. They’ve been custom covered in real alligator leather, which may not be for the environmentally fastidious, but then this is a Defender with bespoke fittings at the rear for shooting paraphernalia. Detailing extends to a unique gear lever, once a joystick in an Apache attack helicopter, which also supplied the red toggle switches for the extensive exterior lighting and interior LED illuminations. Require champagne on your shooting expeditions? That’ll be what the refrigerator in the center console is for.
You may need to take a step back when you open the bonnet. Gone is the trusty turbo diesel. Shoehorned in by the Land Rover obsessives at RR London is a supercharged four litre V8, from a top-of -the-tree Range Rover. The gearbox is a modified six speed unit, the clutch is – naturally – high performance, and the flywheel is lightweight. All told, this huge brick of a machine will reach 60 mph in under eight seconds and can reputedly reach frankly terrifying speeds of more than 130 mph, which may startle the Lamborghini drivers on your local autobahn.
Beyond one owner’s obsession, there is no reason whatsoever for this radical Defender to exist. Start it up, listen to the eardrum-troubling thunder of that V8 and be thankful that it does. Invoiced conversion costs run to £150,000, so the asking price is a veritable bargain. What would you do with it? Once it’s in your drive, just about anything and everything.
A third win for Land Rover in design category at annual World Car of the Year awards.
Land Rover’s new Defender has been judged the 2021 World Car Design of the Year, as part of the annual World Car Awards that recognise automotive excellence.
Highlighting new vehicles with innovation and style that push established boundaries, the World Car Design of the Year award is part of a broader competition that also includes World Performance Car, World Green Car, World Luxury and World Urban Car categories, as well as the overall World Car of the Year.
Cars eligible for the 2021 World Car Design of the Year award encompass all contenders competing in the other four award categories, so the judging panel had dozens of new cars and SUVs to choose from.
That panel consisted of seven highly respected world design experts, including Gernot Bracht (Germany – Pforzheim Design School), Ian Callum (United Kingdom – Director of Design, CALLUM, and formerly with Jaguar, Ford and Aston Martin), Gert Hildebrand (Germany – Owner Hildebrand-Design), Patrick le Quément (France – Designer and President of the Strategy Committee – The Sustainable Design School, and formerly with Ford and Renault), Tom Matano (USA – Academy of Art University, Former Head of Design – Mazda), Victor Nacif (USA – Chief Creative Officer, Brojure.com and Design instructor, NewSchool of Architecture and Design) and Shiro Nakamura (Japan – CEO, Shiro Nakamura Design Associates Inc.).
The panel was asked to first review each candidate, and then establish a short list of recommendations for the final vote. In addition to Defender, the short list included the Mazda MX-30, Honda e, Polestar 2 and Porsche 911 Turbo.
From this group, a 1 through 5 voting system determined the three finalists – Land Rover Defender, Mazda MX-30 and Honda e – which were announced on 30 March.
The final was held on 20 April, where the Defender was declared the ultimate winner, with 299 points, over the Honda e (239 points) and Mazda MX-30 (197 points).
Prof. Gerry McGovern OBE, Chief Creative Officer, Jaguar Land Rover, said: “New Defender is influenced by its past but is not constrained by it and we are delighted it has been honoured with this award.
“Our vision was to create a 21st century Defender by pushing the boundaries of engineering, technology and design while retaining its renowned DNA and off-road capability. The result is a compelling 4×4 that resonates with customers on an emotional level.”
This year’s win is the third for Land Rover in the design category, following the Range Rover Velar in 2018 and Range Rover Evoque in 2012.
A unique Land Rover Defender is up for auction on Collecting Cars. The Land Rover Defender is none other than one of two genuine ex-Camel Trophy vehicles built by the Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations team for the 1998 Tierra Del Fuego Camel Trophy event.
Powered by a 2.5-liter 300tdi turbodiesel inline-four, the 1998 Camel Trophy off-roader is matched with a five-speed manual transmission and has twin fuel tanks, Mantec steering and fuel tank guards, a Warn winch, a Brownchurch bull bar, Hella spotlights, a twin battery setup, a Safety Devices internal roll bard and external roll cage, and Michelin XZL tires.
Easily distinguishable by its yellow paint job and period-correct decals, this Defender has been treated to a full refurbishment. Reading 162,998 miles on the odometer, the auction for this rare Defender 110 Camel Trophy ends tomorrow with the current bid at £29,000 GBP (approximately $41,000 USD). Head over to Collecting Cars for further details.
In other automotive news, KTM’s 450 Rally Replica is the epitome of its “READY TO RACE” philosophy.
The redesigned Land Rover Defender launched head-first into the most confounding automotive marketplace we’ve seen since the financial crisis of 2008. First delayed by the pandemic itself, and later by its ensuing logistical complications, the short-wheelbase 2021 Defender 90 has finally arrived. Well, sort of. It’s a year late and still virtually impossible to find, but it does officially exist.
Setting aside all of that, though, it’s a great time to be in the market for a 4×4. The Jeep Wrangler is better than it has ever been and the Ford Bronco and Land Rover Defender have both (almost) made their triumphant returns to U.S. showrooms. The calendar says 2021, but if you’re into off-roading, you’re partying like it’s 1996.
Mostly, anyway. After all, a lot has changed about the way we build cars in the past quarter-century. The Defender is no longer a body-on-frame truck. It utilizes an aluminum-heavy unibody that Land Rover claims is three times stiffer than the last steel-frame model.
There are comfort and refinement advantages too, but make no mistake, from behind the wheel the Defender is every bit the off-roader its image projects. One of its durability tests involves driving into an 8” curb at 25 miles per hour. Land Rover’s PR folks asked us not to try this, as it’s a bit rough on the wheels and tires, but assured us that the chassis itself would withstand the punishment.
Yes, despite its double-wishbone independent front suspension and multilink rear (with optional air ride, as our tester had), the Defender is still a 4×4 first and foremost, a fact you’ll be reminded of the first time you encounter any sort of surface imperfection. This may sound strange, but Land Rover’s engineers seem to have gone out of their way to preserve the sensation of ruggedness one gets from a traditional, solid-axle truck. Put another way: it drives kind of like a Jeep.
Part of that is down to the 90’s short wheelbase. It’s a full 17 inches shorter than the 110’s, and consequently, like the two-door Wrangler and Bronco, it’s going to have a tougher time dealing with big, jarring bumps. A longer wheelbase allows the car to settle more between the time it takes for the front and rear axles to impact the same obstacle. With a shorter wheelbase, you’re more likely to have both axles trying to sort themselves out from the same impact simultaneously – but not exactly simultaneously. This contributes the choppiness that is often characteristic of short-wheelbase, hard-sprung vehicles.
This is the long way of saying that despite being significantly more sophisticated than either the Wrangler or Bronco (and your author has spent time in both, though admittedly very little in the still-new Ford), if you go in expecting it to glide across broken pavement like a Jaguar F-Pace, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. It’s not nearly as sprightly as the Jaguar with the same engine either, thanks to its extra heft and upright, ground-clearance-friendly posture. It feels like a 4×4, not a highway cruiser.
Where this pays dividends is off pavement. We’ve not had the opportunity to take the Defender 90 off the asphalt just yet (dirt roads in suburban Detroit notwithstanding), but that is where the sawed-off SUV will have the opportunity to shine. The shorter wheelbase improves both turning maneuverability and maximum breakover angles, giving it an advantage on tight trails and taller obstacles. We’re working with Land Rover to get our hands on the D90 with the explicit purpose of taking it off-road; stay tuned for that.
Our tester was a First Edition model with a $66,475 sticker price and only two included options: a tow hitch receiver and a set of off-road tires. The First Edition is based on the P400 X-Dynamic with a 394-horsepower inline-6 (four- and eight-cylinder models are also available). Apart from the unique aesthetic elements, the First Edition also adds electronic air suspension, adaptive dampers and configurable terrain response. That last feature is actually pretty cool, in that it allows you to fine-tune the Defender’s drive mode behavior with far more granularity than is typical.
We spent most of our time cruising around the northern Detroit ‘burbs, where the Defender 90 was most adept at turning heads. Even here in the land of the jaded automobile enthusiast, the D90 still has the smell of forbidden fruit. Cruising around with the fabric top insert rolled back to do a sardine-can-like impression of a soft-top Wrangler, the two-door actually looks a bit ungainly to your author’s eyes.
Inside, it’s more of the same. The materials are better than what you get in a Bronco or Wrangler, to be sure, but at least at the relatively sane price point of the mid-trim model we drove (no Walnut veneer trim or fancy leather steering wheel to be found here), you’re getting a fairly straightforward, no-frills experience. The Defender’s new Pivi Pro infotainment screen dominates the interior aesthetic; just a handful of controls grace the remaining spaces on the dash and console; the large knobs under the Pivi Pro screen are toggled to perform multiple functions.
There are some nods to both heritage and practicality in here as well. Our test model had the included jump seat (another First Edition inclusion), which theoretically gives you a six-passenger configuration. Neither we nor Land Rover explicitly recommends the Defender 90 for those who plan to carry more than one or two passengers at a time, but it’s cool to see nonetheless and it folds away sufficiently to do a reasonable impression of a center console when not in use.
By and large, the new Land Rover Defender lives up to its legacy. It’s decidedly more expensive than the Ford Bronco or Jeep Wrangler, but not so prohibitively costly that you’d hate to take one near a trail for fear of scratching it (looking at you, Mercedes-Benz G-Class). The 90 is the clear choice for the enthusiast who intends to hit the trails and its drawbacks are no more consequential than any other short-wheelbase off-roader’s, provided you’re comfortable getting dirty in a $65,000 British SUV. Hey, it’s still cheaper than a Wrangler 392, right?
The shorter-wheelbase Land Rover Defender 90 joins the Defender lineup for the 2021 model year and gives buyers a smaller option aside from the Defender 110, which shares much of it’s capabilities but is slightly burdened by its bulkier shape and heavier weight. Land Rover
It’s amazing what a difference two doors and 17 inches can make.
For 2021, Land Rover added a shorter, two-door variant to its resurrected Defender nameplate: the Defender 90. Compared with its more voluminous counterpart—the Defender 110—the shorter version of Britain’s iconic SUV Rover looks, well, adorable. With its natty white roof, perfect proportions, Pangea Green paint and spare tire floating on a side-opening tailgate, the Defender 90 has a different feel than the larger 110.
Even though its classic boxy shape and brilliant details are largely the same, the Defender 90’s box just looks better—and more purposeful. If the four-door Defender 110 is the family-weekend SUV, driven by dutiful parents, the 90 is the one shirking work on a Tuesday to go surfing and coming home mud-sloshed and well after dark.
That’s a bit of a stereotype, of course. The four-door 110 looks sharp and also likes impromptu jaunts that might include skinny-dipping in creeks or streams up to 35.4 inches deep, aided by a water-fording sensor that detects the depth ahead and displays it on the center touchscreen. And aside from the most-extreme situations, the 110 is equally adept off-road versus the Defender 90. That includes identical approach and departure angles (an indicator of its ability to climb steep obstacles without scraping its chin or rear bumper), and a selectable Terrain Response 2 system, which lets the driver choose a mode that optimizes traction depending on terrain.
Land Rover’s larger Defender 110 has off-road talent and tech like electronic hill descent and a “see through” hood camera, but it’s larger footprint makes it more practical choice for families. Alex Kalogiannis
But there’s just something that makes more sense about a two-door SUV, whether it’s the Defender, newly reborn Ford Bronco or classic Jeep Wrangler. Remarkably, prior to the new Defender 90 and the Bronco that debuted last summer (with a four-door Bronco also available), the Wrangler was the last two-door SUV still standing in America. And that configuration of the Wrangler—whose two-door history traces to the U.S. Army’s Willys-Jeep that helped win WWII—is decisively outsold by its four-door Unlimited version.
Land Rover moved more than 16,000 units of its award-winning, four-door Defender in the U.S. its first year. With the Defender 90 just reaching showrooms, it’s too soon to say what percentage of buyers will go for the smaller, sportier version, Joe Eberhart, president and chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover North America told Forbes Wheels.
“We do know there’s a market for the Defender 90,” Eberhardt says. “They’re people looking for a more-individualistic, expressive type of vehicle; something that stands out from the crowd.”
As Americans have given the cold shoulder to carefree, two-door coupes, from the Chevrolet Camaro to luxury GTs from Europe and Japan, that practical-minded herd also has migrated away from two-door SUVs and pickups.
The International Harvester Scout was one of the very first modern SUVs, introduced in 1960 with some of the comforts of a car mated to the off-road ability of the company’s four-wheel drive trucks. Alex Kwanten
Vintage Two-Doors
But oversized utility wasn’t always the standard. For decades, two-door cars outsold their sedan counterparts, including through the 50s, 60s and 70s. People didn’t mind scooching their way into the back seat, aided in many cases by yacht-sized coupes (think Cadillac Eldorado) with doors the size of ocean rafts. As for 4×4’s of an earlier vintage, two-door models were hugely popular with the outdoors crowd. That adventurous, no-frills bunch included the Toyota “FJ” Land Cruiser—built from 1960 to 1984, now a prized collectible—the first-generation Toyota 4Runner, Chevrolet K5 Blazer, Jeep Cherokee, Nissan Pathfinder, Isuzu Trooper and the pride of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, the International Harvester Scout.
Automakers also rolled out several bite-sized, tall-riding thingamabobs that presaged today’s crossover era. In 1986, Suzuki scored a hit with its funky two-door Samurai, a miniature SUV that was fun on the street and crazy-capable off-road, despite a mere 63-horsepower engine. The Samurai became the fastest-selling Japanese car in U.S. history during its first year, and spawned a Suzuki Sidekick (and General Motor’s Geo Tracker offshoot), before a controversial rollover scandal kneecapped its sales and doomed it.
The original Toyota RAV4 offered a two-door model from 1996 to 2000, and a college-sophomore-friendly convertible in 1998. Oddest of all was the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet.This two-door, convertible version of the popular Murano looked (and drove) like Humpty Dumpty after his great fall. Nissan mercifully pulled the plug in 2014 after three years of tepid sales, but perhaps it had the last laugh. Rolling up today in a CrossCabrio with its top open would draw a crowd of curious bystanders faster than some sports cars.
After decades of offering the Land Cruiser as a hard-core two-door SUV, Toyota launched the original 4Runner in 1984. At the time, most SUVs were still primarily two-door adventuremobiles, and that same year Jeep launched XJ-series Cherokee, which popularized them as family machines. Alex Kwanten
Nimbler Advantages
The new Defender 90 also is guaranteed to turn heads, but in a good way. I’d already driven the Defender 110 extensively, from a rugged climb up the steep shoulders of Mt. Equinox in Vermont; to hardcore off-roading in the boonies of Maine—including overnight solo camping in the Landy’s optional $4,000, Italian-made rooftop tent. Both models represent a new touchstone for on-road performance in a serious off-road 4×4, thanks in part to an adaptive air suspension and a sophisticated aluminum chassis that Land Rover says is three times as rigid as the best body-on-frame trucks.
Yet on knotted country roads north of Manhattan, the Defender 90 instantly reveals its nimble advantages over its big brother, as is expected from a smaller SUV that weighs as little as 4,550 pounds versus 4,815 for the beefier 110 with the same turbocharged, 296-horsepower four-cylinder engine. That Defender 90 also costs less, starting from $48,050, versus $51,850 for the four-cylinder 110. Naturally, it’s a touch quicker, no matter which of its two engine choices it has. The near-loaded, Defender 90 First Edition I drove (at $66,475) brings a just-right 395 horsepower from a 3.0-liter inline six with one supercharger, one turbocharger and a 48-volt mild hybrid boost.
It romps to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds, leaving lesser SUVs in its stylish wake. The range-topping Defender V8s arrive late this year (in both body styles), with the 90 starting from $98,550, or $101,750 for the 110. Those models get 518 horsepower from a supercharged, 5.0-liter V8, the same engine that provides artillery-fire force—with a soundtrack to match—in models like the Jaguar F-Pace SUV, F-Type sports car and Range Rover Sport SVR.
The Land Rover Defender’s smaller, two-door body offers nimbler driving dynamics on twisty roads and an off-road edge on narrow trails and taller obstacles. Bill Howard
Pleasing Proportions
Whether Defender, Wrangler or Bronco, two-door versions claim an off-road edge as well, even if only a small percentage of owners will maximize that ability. Compact dimensions let them pick their way through narrower trails and tighter turns than their beefier siblings. Shorter wheelbases allow them to surmount taller obstacles without getting “high centered,” or hung up near their middle like a seesaw on its fulcrum.
The best-kept secret of these rough-and-ready SUVs? They’re actually perfect for a certain type of city slicker, as this former two-door Wrangler owner will attest. The new Defender 90 is barely 170 inches long, more than a foot shorter than a compact Honda Civic sedan. (A two-door Wrangler stretches about 167 inches). That lets them squeeze into remarkably tight parking spots. At the same time, they’re tall, well-armored fortresses, perfect for seeing over traffic and fending off unpredictable Uber drivers. These SUV’s also laugh off potholes and other urban obstacles that destroy the tires and wheels of conventional cars.
“The Defender really does lend itself to an urban environment,” Eberhardt says.
The Defender 90’s size helps it weave in an out of congested traffic and navigate tight city quarters, including parking lots that after are crowded and limited in space. Land Rover
Tricky Entry and Exit
For all their pleasing proportions and performance advantages, the two-door handicap remains. Relatively scrawny cargo space and a trickier back seat equals horrible ingress and egress. Climbing out of them requires a younger man’s dexterity to avoid tripping over the sill and landing teeth first on the pavement.
The two-door Defender makes things easier, including a button on front seats that powers them forward for easier (but still clumsy) access. Once aboard, however, headroom is vast enough for NBA forwards, and legroom is ample.
The bigger tradeoff is that the 17 inches of lost length (versus the 110) is virtually all in the cargo hold. The 110 more than doubles the 90’s cargo space behind the second row, with 34.6 cubic feet versus 15.6. The 110 also offers a child-sized pair of third-row seats for seven-passenger capability. The 90 does provide an optional jump seat (also available on the 110) that converts front buckets into a handy three-row bench, for six-passenger capability. Yet for families with twin strollers and mountains of gear, the 110 is the logical play.
Stuart Schorr, JLR North America’s communications chief, rightly notes that prospects will know which club they belong to: “When I take certain people for a ride in the 90, they say, ‘I would definitely get this one [because] I’m not looking for a practical solution; I’m buying it because it’s cool, and I like it.’”
