Is Jaguar Land Rover set to launch a 'baby' Land Rover Defender?

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Is Jaguar Land Rover set to launch a 'baby' Land Rover Defender?

Postby dutchman » Sun Apr 24, 2022 5:50 am

The entry-level Land Rover would be the cheapest model in the range and could cost less than £30,000

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Speculation has been around for some time that a ‘baby’ Land Rover Defender forms part of Jaguar Land Rover's model plans going forward. In November 2020 we looked at the prospect and the industry rumours.

Back then it was mooted it could cost as little as £25,000, though with the ongoing pressures on the automotive industry and soaring inflation that figure would surely now be closer to £30,000. Even so, it would be seen by many as a bargain price for a brand new Land Rover.

Towards the end of 2020 there were some reports the baby Land Rover was not far off and UK automotive magazine What Car? included it in a list of what it believed would be Jaguar Land Rover’s forthcoming models. At the same time CoventryLive also speculated on what models Jaguar Land Rover might have in the pipeline.

In 2020 What Car? said it believed the scaled-down, cut-price Defender would join the Land Rover model range in 2022. The magazine said its biggest selling point would be the bargain price, which would undercut the new Defender - which now starts at £55,625 - by some considerable margin.

The concept of the baby Land Rover is nothing new and its potential arrival has already been speculated on by CoventryLive. What Car? said it believed the new model would draw heavily on the Defender, which was unveiled in September 2019, from a design perspective but feature a more stripped-down interior with less space and equipment.

The possibility was mooted elsewhere too and much of the detail on what the cut-price Land Rover might be like was described by Hilton Holloway writing in Autocar. He said the new vehicle would draw heavily on the new Defender as well as referencing the original Land Rover.

Also that it would not be as square-edged and mechanical as the controversial 2011 DC100 concept. The DC100 concept was originally unveiled as a possible Defender replacement but the design was not well received by Land Rover aficionados.

Fans of the old Defender would welcome a more basic addition to the range and a more affordable Land Rover would bring many new buyers to the Land Rover brand. Currently the smallest SUV in the Jaguar Land Rover stable is the Jaguar E-Pace.

Autocar suggested the new model could be called something as simple as the Land Rover 80, a reference to the wheelbase of the original Series 1 Land Rover.

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Re: Is Jaguar Land Rover set to launch a 'baby' Land Rover Defender?

Postby rebbonk » Sun Apr 24, 2022 2:18 pm

... Fans of the old Defender would welcome a more basic addition to the range ...


I somehow doubt that. I wonder how many Defender fans they actually talked to? I've run Defender clinics and I can tell you that moves to bring the vehicle up to date have never been popular. Often with very good reason.

L/R has lost its way, it has forgotten its roots and it has too many vehicles competing in the same market segment. - A recipe for disaster as BMC/BL found to their cost. Mistakes from the past have not been learned.

A few years ago L/R was developing a vehicle known as 'the farmers' friend'. I wonder what happened to that? :rolling: - Oh, of course, it didn't fit their nice new shiny image, did it?

JLR needs reminding of the old adage, 'turnover is vanity, profit is sanity'. How much longer will Tata hang on to them for their supposed 'halo' effect? As the impending recession starts to bite, when push comes to shove, they'll dump them without further thought.
Of course it'll fit; you just need a bigger hammer.
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