Ares Design’s gifted auto specialists are no strangers to the aftermarket realm. Since the company’s relatively recent birth, the Italian craftsmen never failed to amaze gearheads with their fascinating works of mechanical art.
A few of Ares’ most notable undertakings have honored the autoevolution pages with their presence, including a bespoke Porsche 911 Turbo with 425 hp on tap and a Tesla Model S-based convertible masterpiece. As you examine these beasts, it’s fairly safe to conclude that Modena’s experts mean business.
Given the fact that we can’t seem to get enough of this firm’s surreal wizardry (and I’ll bet you feel the same), we’d say a closer look at their Land Rover Defender Spec 1.2 is a welcome feat. At the end of the day, transforming an undistinguished previous-gen Defender into a V8-powered monstrosity with eerie vibes is no walk in the park. In fact, I encourage you to sit down and take a deep breath because this bad boy will make you weak at the knees.
In Stock form, the SUV is brought to life by a 2.2-liter turbodiesel inline-four engine with four valves per cylinder head and a healthy compression ratio of 15.6:1. At about 3,500 rpm, the mill produces as much as 121 hp along with a respectable torque output of up to 266 pound-feet (361 Nm) at 2,000 revs. This oomph is distributed to all four wheels by means of a six-speed manual transmission, enabling the Defender to reach a top speed of 90 mph (145 kph).
Now that we’ve covered the standard vehicle’s main characteristics, let’s proceed with a thorough analysis of Ares Design’s leviathan. The very first thing you’ll notice is a sinister widebody kit that manages to look just about as rad as it gets. At the front, the new bodywork consists of a carbon fiber grille that doubles up as a headlight housing for the car’s new LED items, as well as a beefy hood with integrated air inlets.
On the flanks, we spot a set of muscular fender flares arching over the tuner’s rugged 18-inch five-spoke hoops. To add even more visual bulk, Italy’s pros went about installing a stealthy pair of tubular side steps in between. Furthermore, the colossus also received enlarged rear windows, a panoramic roof, and circular LED taillights to round out (no pun intended) the cosmetic pizzazz.
Inside, the cabin has been meticulously reupholstered with top-grade leather, but the use of premium materials doesn’t end there. An assortment of carbon fiber trimmings tastefully complements the new upholstery, while a state-of-the-art infotainment system supporting both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto adorns the dashboard. Ares’ high-tech goodness is concluded by an engine start-stop button, electric windows, and heated side mirrors hosting fresh turn signals.
Last but not least, the Defender’s humble 2.2-liter turbodiesel powerplant has been discarded in favor of a naturally aspirated 4.8-liter V8 behemoth producing no less than 282 wild ponies and 324 pound-feet (440 Nm) of twist. To ensure the additional force is handled with ease, the V8 predator has been coupled with a six-speed automatic gearbox. On the other hand, stopping power is taken good care of by six-piston calipers from AP Racing.
The finishing touch comes in the form of a suspension lift kit, which increases the SUV’s ground clearance by 1.4 inches (35 mm). Should you be looking to purchase your own Defender Spec 1.2, Ares Design claims that your order will be delivered in approximately three months. However, pricing information remains undisclosed at the time of this publication.
The Land Rover Defender was inarguably the most exciting car to hit our roads last year, but the British marque hasn’t quite started to relax just yet.
Quite the contrary, because it’s just casually dropped the most powerful production Defender ever made. This will be the first major upgrade since its reintroduction in 2019, and it’s fair to say that the power-hungry won’t be disappointed, not when there’s a potent new V8 under its hood.
Available on both the three-door 90 and the five-door 110 versions, the 5.0-litre supercharged V8 — mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission — is capable of an immense 518hp and 625Nm of torque, making this 4×4 hooligan not only the most powerful, but also the fastest production iteration ever. Zero-to-100kph figures are touted at only 4.9 seconds, with a top speed of 240kph.
Don’t mistake the regular turbocharged inline-six (mild hybrid too, mind you) to not be good enough though, because it’s plenty powerful enough for anything you might’ve already fantasized putting the SUV through, including steep muddy ascends in the wild outback. The Defender V8 will, however, get an additional drive mode in its Terrain Response system that focuses on the tarmac and loose surfaces like say, gravel, so you can get the most out of its formidable powertrain literally anywhere you go. Expect beefier sway bars too, as well as a yaw controller for the electronic rear differential and larger front brakes to cope with this newfound power.
Besides a new powertrain, Land Rover is also offering a host of trim levels that you’ll be able to upgrade your dream Defender with. The new Defender V8 Carpathian Edition is the model’s flagship and will feature Carpathian Gray bodywork with Land Rover’s semi-matte Satin Protective Film, as well as a black roof and tailgate. It’ll also come with extensive “V8 Carpathian Edition” badging and black trim pieces for maximum presence both inside and out.
There’ll also be an XS Edition that replaces the wildly popular First Edition, which offers exterior and interior treatments on both the 90 and 110. This includes bespoke body-coloured lower claddings and lower wheel arches, which draw the eye to distinctive 20-inch, contrast diamond-turned Satin Grey alloy wheels. The four exclusive paint colours here — Silicon Silver, Hakuba Silver, Gondwana Stone, and Santorini Black — perfectly encapsulate the brooding power of the iconic SUV, and set the tone for its luxurious grained leather interiors.
Other highlights to look forward to in 2022 Defenders include infotainment upgrades. The Pivi Pro system can now be upsized to 11.4 inches — up from the regular 10 inches — and includes a wireless charging tray and signal booster. If the handsome exterior of the Defender somehow fails to impress you, there are also three new design packs that enable personalization such as chrome finishes and badging.
The first thing I did with the 2020 Land Rover Defender 110 was get over my guilt that I didn’t have some grand, off-roading adventure planned. Well, to be fair that was the second thing: first was pausing to appreciate just how handsome the SUV this storied nameplate is attached to is, as it makes its long-awaited return to North American shores.
It’s been 23 years since Land Rover officially offered the Defender in the US and Canada, the SUV a double victim of safety regulations that were increasingly expensive to satisfy, and the automaker’s own decision to prioritize the more lucrative Discovery and Range Rover. In the 2+ decades since then, of course, utility vehicles have gone on to dominate the market. When it came to redesigning the Defender, Land Rover couldn’t afford to ignore this side of the Atlantic.
As with other rebooted icons, however, figuring out how to drag the Defender into the 21st Century proved a challenge. Those same alluring sales figures for SUVs come with a far broader audience to satisfy. It’s one which quite frankly doesn’t need the off-roading talents that were once essential to SUV buyers, and moreover won’t compromise on driving dynamics because of those abilities.
The result is, like most of the best reinventions, controversial and memorable. The 2020 Defender has softened in its edges but has no less presence for it. Distinctive cues like the circular headlamps, Alpine windows in the roof, and the side-opening tailgate with its spare wheel are a nod to the past, sitting alongside more sculpted arches, crisp LED taillights, and plenty of curb presence.
I think it looks tremendous, and while Land Rover’s palette of toned-down greens, browns, grey, and silvers aren’t exactly bold, they let the distinctive two-tone finish speak for itself. For the moment the five-door Defender 110 is the only model in the US, but 2021 will bring the Defender 90 with two doors and an even more rakish look. The Eiger Grey of my review car turned heads, repeatedly, drawing attention from pickup and SUV owners alike.
Land Rover offers two engines, starting with a 2.0-liter P300 twin-turbocharged inline-four with 296 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. That does 0-60 mph in 7.7 seconds. The upgrade is the 3.0-liter P400 inline-six mild-hybrid, with 395 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque. It trims the 0-60 run to in 5.8 seconds, but despite being bigger actually gets better fuel economy numbers. The EPA says the P400 should do 17 mpg in the city, 22 mpg on the highway, and 19 mpg combined: not amazing by any stretch, but achievable in practice.
My top-spec Defender X – optioned out to a hefty $86k – came with the P400 as standard, and it’s well suited to the SUV’s manners. It doesn’t feel exactly over-powered on the road, but it’s responsive and has plenty of low-end torque that arrives in a pleasing and reliable surge. The 48V mild-hybrid system helps smooth out the stop/start system, too.
All-wheel drive is, unsurprisingly, standard, and Land Rover adds locking differentials as well. Underneath, the big change – and among the most controversial – is a switch from body-on-frame to a unibody platform. Purists may scoff and wave their arms in fury, but it just plain makes more sense for an SUV expected to handle asphalt as well as it does rougher terrain.
Gone, too, are the sold axles, replaced with fully independent suspension. That uses air suspension with adjustable ride height, too. It’ll lift to up to 11.5-inches of ground clearance, and wade through up to 35.4-inches of water.
Were I one of those purists, here’s where I’d talk about how I led the Defender on an uncompromising overlanding adventure packed with perilous cliffs and inclines fit only for mountain goats. Let’s face it, though, the majority of Defender buyers will be sticking to regular roads most of the time, and likely only setting the SUV’s Terrain Response drive mode to its sand or rock crawl settings by accident. Higher-spec Defender trims get Terrain Response 2 with an intelligent Auto mode, which promises to pick the transmission, suspension, and traction settings for you.
I may not have challenged myself with the Midwest’s equivalent of Mount Kilimanjaro, but the Defender did get to show its merit on some snow and ice, conquer unpaved and deeply rutted roads with aplomb, and tackle the arduous twists and turns of the grocery store parking lot. The latter demonstrated the worth of the standard 3D Surround Camera feature, which goes one step better than most bird’s eye view systems by magically showing you what’s actually underneath the SUV.
Blind spot assistance, cruse control, lane-keeping assistance, rear traffic monitor, traffic sign recognition, and the clear exit monitor come standard, too, even on the $50,500 (plus $1,350 destination) base Defender. The Defender X-Dynamic adds a camera-based rear view mirror, too, while the Defender X trim throws in a head-up display too, among other things.
There’s a sense of burly sophistication when you settle in at the wheel, and happily the Defender lives up to that first-impression. You can cruise along comfortably and fool yourself into thinking you’re in a Range Rover, but it’s equally confident at making you feel invincible in bad weather, on ice, or when the state of the road surface really ought to be shaking out your teeth. While it has plenty of presence, too, it’s actually shorter than a Ford Explorer, and the slab-sided aesthetic means it’s not too tricky to figure where the edges are in tighter spots.
As for the cabin, that blend of practical and plush continues. Land Rover’s fully digital instrumentation is standard on the Defender X-Dynamic and up; the base car gets analog gauges flanking a center display. A 10-inch touchscreen for the Pivi Pro infotainment system is standard, along with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, SiriusXM, and wireless phone charging. The Defender X-Dynamic adds a Meridian sound system, too, along with tablet mounts and USB charging ports for the rear passengers.
Were I actually planning on off-road pursuits, I’d probably stick with the base SUV’s fabric trim too; X-Dynamic trim adds leather, and the Defender X gets even nicer hide with an extended package. Regardless of trim, there are plenty of cubbies, storage nooks, and rubber-lined trays ideal for holding phones, headphones, stray GoPro cameras, and more..
Exposed rivet heads and chunky switchgear both look and feel the part, while there’s a decent amount of headroom and legroom in both the first and second rows. The optional third row, however, is best left for the smallest of kids, or better still as cargo space. Drop the second row and you’re looking at a decent 78.8 cu-ft. If you need more, it’s rated to tow 8,200 pounds.
Land Rover Defender 110 Verdict
Hailing from the UK myself, I’ll confess there’s a little “home team advantage” that the new Defender 110 benefits from. That, of course, is countered by my natural British inclination toward pessimism: though nothing went wrong during my time with the new Land Rover, it’d be remiss of me not to mention the somewhat patchy reputation the automaker’s electronics suffer. A four-year, 50,000 mile warranty is standard.
In total, though, it’s tough not to be swayed by the new Defender’s charms. It feels more special than other SUVs: built for the wild, yes, but hose off the mud and I reckon it could go toe to toe with a Range Rover when it comes to living fancy. The badge and standard equipment do carry a price premium, but I think the overall presence and the general cohesiveness of its on- and off-road abilities make that feel a reasonable price to pay. After 23 years of absence it’s not quite the Defender we expected: it’s better than that.
When Land Rover approached Jeremy Clarkson to review the all-new Defender, the 60-year-old journalist and presenter was determined to dislike the luxurious SUV with unibody construction. But as it often happens to J.C., his assumption was eventually turned upside down.
Writing for The Sunday Times, the tallest of the three amigos on The Grand Tour“was never a fan of the old Defender.” Jeremy Clarkson isn’t particularly smitten by the die-hard fans who prefer the body-on-frame model and the Land Rover Series, and I totally see where he’s coming from.
Take, for instance, the Wrangler. Over the course of four generations, Jeep didn’t change the essentials, but did improve the breed in ways that actually make sense. A more comfortable driving position, better steering, improved ride quality, even a plug-in hybrid; Jeep did all that but didn’t dare switch from a body-on-frame 4×4 to a luxed-up sport utility vehicle.
Land Rover, by comparison, abandoned the good ol’ ladder frame even though it wasn’t necessary. Even Ford tapped into the Wrangler’s segment with the pickup truck-based Bronco because there’s a lot of money to be made in this market. As for the all-new Defender, well, Richard Hammond believes that Land Rover should’ve named it Discovery and call it a day.
Turning our attention back to Clarkson, he’s most impressed by the interior, technological trickery, and off-road capability of the short-wheelbase model he reviewed. The “pointlessly visible screw heads” on the door cards are not to his liking, and the price tag left him baffled at 62,000 pounds sterling. A well-equipped spec with a six-pot engine soars past 80,000 pounds sterling, and that’s a big no-no because it’s full-size Range Rover territory.
“Excuse me, but if I want a vehicle to cart around bales of straw and sheep — and I do, by the way — why would I spend £50,000-plus on a Defender?” Clarkson further wrote for The Sunday Driving Times that his tester was bonging hysterically at him when maneuvering near blades of grass, and I’m pretty lost for words about that. An off-roader is scared of grass, really?
Two more problems Jeremy has highlighted are the wind noise on the motorway and “the sort of constant diagonal pitching motion.” The verdict? Well, J.C. likes the brand-new Defender, but he “can’t see the point of it.”
He says the Range Rover is a much better alternative for well-to-do people who commute every weekend to a nice estate in the British countryside, though surprisingly enough, Jeremy Clarkson would pick a very different type of vehicle to call his own. Instead of the Defender, J.C. would rather have the “cheaper, more tax-efficient, and more practical Ford Ranger Raptor.”
Hiking, history, and some really good tarts, thanks to Land Rover’s newest model
In these strange times of COVID-19 bubbles and limited travel, we need to find adventure close to home. With that in mind, my wife Claire and I embarked on a trek in search of fresh air, postcard vistas, home-baked treats and very large (carved) snakes. Our vehicle of choice was one of the most anticipated vehicles of the year (at least among the off-road and wannabe off-road crowd) – the 2020 Land Rover Defender 110.
Our journey would have us wending our way along some of my favourite scenic roads in Ontario, in the Halton region just north of Burlington. We’d go hiking in two of the seven Halton Region Conservation Parks, and conclude our day at Springridge Farm, where we would pick up some local apples and a few of their famous tarts.
Our Defender 110 P400 SE ($76,000 base price) was a tad over-qualified for the job, having been equipped for press fleet duties with just about every boonie-bashing option imaginable.
But dang, it looked the part in Pangea Green ($900), and sporting the Explorer Pack ($6,000) that bestows such suburban necessities as extra body cladding, an exterior side-mounted gear carrier (for un-muddied Hunter boots), lightweight roof rack (for that mega Holt-Renfrew shopping spree), matte-black 110 hood decal, spare wheel cover, and the all-important engine intake snorkel. This black plastic accoutrement runs up the driver’s side A-pillar and is there for those times when one is fording deep water. You know, those times. However, being just inches away from the driver’s head, in these environs the snorkel mainly serves to make said driver (moi) look like a posing Oakvillian dork. I’ll show those pretenders in their Mercedes G-Wagons.
The first nice stretch of tarmac we find is Sideroad No 2, running west off of Appleby Line, a few kilometres north of the QEW. This tree-lined lane crosses a babbling brook and then emerges onto a lovely open stretch that connects to Walkers Line. The cliffs of Mt. Nemo dominate the view. We turned right on Walkers and then made a left on Britannia, which took us to Guelph Line. Heading a few kilometres north from there had us motoring through the appropriately-named Lowville (fab bistro on the right) and up to Crawford Lake Conservation Park.
Currently, Conservation Halton requires visitors to book a time in advance (easy to do online) with entrance fees being $6.50 for adults, and $5.00 for kids and seniors (under 4 gets in free). Or, if you plan on multiple visits, a one-year individual pass costs $62 (seniors $50.50, family $135).
A cool feature of Crawford Lake is the reconstructed 15th-century Iroquoian village. The three longhouses, with numerous artifacts and displays, give a fascinating glimpse of what life was like for First Nations peoples 600 years ago.
The heart of the park is Crawford Lake, which visitors can circle via a raised boardwalk, built to protect the delicate marshland. This small body of water, a meromictic lake, is unique in that its depth exceeds that of its surface area, meaning little oxygen reaches the lowest lowest levels. Here, deep in the sediment, researchers found ancient corn pollen, tied to the nearby First Nations settlement. No, there are no deep lake monsters that we are aware of, but along the Hide and Seek Trail that leads to the lake, you’ll see larger-than-life wooden carvings of local species at risk that look as though they might have just slithered up from the depths.
A hiking trail connects Crawford Lake to nearby Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area, but since Halton park visits are currently limited to two hours, that trail is closed. Taking the easy route, Claire and I jumped back in the Defender and meandered over to the Rattlesnake Point entrance that sits atop a very steep and winding section of Appleby Line that runs north off Derry Road. This appropriately snake-like stretch of road once hosted the Rattle Snake Hill Climb, a major event for sports car enthusiasts beginning in 1950, with Porsches being dominant from 1960-64. Below is multi-winner Horst Kroll in his Porsche 356 Speedster hanging it out on the then-all-gravel road (thank you to F. David Stone for the photo).
Our ascent was considerably less eventful, as we enjoyed this toughest of Land Rover’s surprisingly refined comportment and torquey turbocharged/supercharged 395-hp straight-six. Once in the park, we trekked a section of the Bruce Trail that offers fantastic vistas from the edge of a rocky escarpment.
After a day of hiking one can get a bit peckish, so our next stop was nearby Springridge Farm to see what treats awaited us. Owned by the Hughes family since 1960, Springridge gradually grew from a pick-your-own-cherries operation in the 1970s into a very popular local destination offering fresh local produce, children’s activities, knick-knacks, cookbooks, preserves, and devilishly scrumptious baked goods that draw on recipes from original owner Jane Hughes. In 2017, John, Laura, Amy and Tom Hughes were officially recognized as a “Canada 150 Farm Family”, receiving a certificate for their commitment to advancing agriculture in Halton Region.
With the Defender suitably loaded with tarts, apples and dill pickles (Claire will not buy pickles anywhere else) we pointed the Landie’s khaki snout south and headed back to the ‘burbs. Not surprisingly, the Defender turned heads everywhere we went, actually attracting a small crowd in the Rattlesnake Point parking lot.
We had a fantastic day of enjoying the local sights and supporting local industry, although for me it was a somewhat perilous adventure. Not because of the Rattle Snake Hill Climb or peering over those rocky precipices, but purely for the reason that Claire has been in love with the original not-for-sale-here Land Rover Defender for years (too much British murder mystery TV) and I feared the availability this fresh world-market edition with its Range Rover level of refinement would cause all kinds of problems. Yes, she really wants her own Defender, but thankfully she’ll do without the snorkel.
