Many Land Rover fans, the motoring press, and even the English mainstream press continue to pay homage to the now-out-of-production Defender. The country is mourning the loss of a vehicle so iconically British, that it is instantly recognizable, akin to the famous double-decker bus or a black London taxi. At the same time, executives at Land Rover headquarters in Solihull, UK appear to be having an identity crisis with regards to the Defender’s replacement.
It seems the shroud of mystery surrounding the new Defender has crept over the walls of Land Rover HQ and may even be causing a layer of fog to settle over the boardroom as well. The result being that reports are suggesting that we now won’t see a new model until 2018 or even 2019.
Our inside sources say that the company is split over whether the new Defender should hold true to its utilitarian, agricultural roots or whether it should strive for more upscale associations akin to other Land Rover models. One thing our source did confirm is that nobody in the company really liked the DC100 concept released a few years ago, and that the new version will not resemble that in any way. The outpouring of negative reviews in response to the DC100 reportedly led to an almost total redesign.
Although it’s rumored that the re-design has been almost finalized, sources say that a debate is still ongoing about where the vehicle will be produced. It could be made in JLR’s new factory in Slovakia, or at another non-British site, though there are some reports that many JLR execs are keen to keep the Defender built in the UK.
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