New Land Rover Defender previewed in DC100 Concept

New Land Rover Defender DC100 Concept

What to do with the Land Rover Defender is something which has been taxing minds at LR for some time. And the Land Rover DC100 Concept – heading to Frankfurt – is the first stab at publicly showing the direction in which they’re heading.

The Dc100 is very much a first draft; an early look at the direction Land Rover are heading with the next generation of the sixty year old Defender. What it doesn’t do is tell us what Land Rover intends to put under the skin.

It still seems likely that Land Rover will make use of the existing T5 chassis – as we predicted two years ago – to underpin a future Defender and offer a range of yet-to-be-developed, in-house Tata 4-pots – and maybe the V6 diesel.

The T5 chassis – which is the current underpinnings for the Discovery and RRS – is the most able of the Land Rover chassis, even if it does weigh slightly more than the moon, and would be a fine step up for the Defender in 2015.

It would endow the new Defender with all the abilities of the current Defender – including all the body type variations needed – but add in proper off-road comfort and on-road manners.

That said – and if things keep rolling in JLR’s direction – Tata may decide to invest in a new platform to underpin the Defender. And it would have to be new, because the next generation of platforms for Land Rover’s more road-oriented products probably won’t cut the mustard in proper ‘Middle of Nowhere in the Jungle or Desert’ settings.

But there’s a way to go before they need to decide on the underpinnings – although with a launch of 2015 planned, not too long – but they do have longer to decide how the next generation Defender should look. John Edwards, Land Rover’s Global Brand Director,  said:

“Loved the world over for its simple, honest and distinctive design, we are determined that the new Defender will be true to its heritage, while meeting the requirements of a changing global market.   

We plan to engage with existing and potential customers to help us finalise the details of the new vehicle.  One thing’s for sure, it’s going to be an exciting journey, and we can’t wait to get going.

We’re not too sure about the DC100; it looks more like a cartoon Defender than the real-deal. In profile it’s going in the right direction, but the front end looks very ‘First Effort’. It just doesn’t say ’21st century Land Rover’; it looks more like a Chines effort at a Defender ‘Homage’.

What do you think?

(click image for full size version)

By Cars UK