It may have been just an ordinary Tuesday for you, but Land Rover celebrated a major milestone on April 30, 2019. Because not only was it Land Rover Day—didn’t you know, it’s the 71st anniversary of the Land Rover’s debut at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show?—but it also marked the completion of 1.2-million kilometres of testing in the new Defender prototype by the brand. To ensure ultimate off-road readiness, these 1.2M klicks have been collected all over the planet. The brand even put together this graphic to demonstrate the extremes to which it’s taken the new offroader, and where. It has been ripped around the Nurburgring, subjected to -40 degrees Celsius cold in the arctic and 50 degrees Celsius heat in the desert, and seen altitudes upwards of 10,000 feet in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. But to honour (and hype) this latest milestone, JLR has released a new set of images of the camouflaged Defender hauling a** through the rugged Kenyan terrain, where it will complete its final phase of testing. The brand plans to put the 44 to the test while aiding the Borana Conservancy and the Tusk Trust, a 15-year partner, by transporting goods and people and helping with other such chores across the park’s 35,000 acres. “In addition to the extensive simulation and rig testing, we’ve driven new Defender 1.2 million kilometres across all terrains and in extreme climates to ensure that it is the toughest and most capable Land Rover vehicle ever made,” said Nick Rogers, Executive Director, Product Engineering, Jaguar Land Rover. “The incredible opportunity to put it to the test in the field, supporting operations at the Borana Conservancy in Kenya, with Tusk, will allow our engineers to verify that we are meeting this target as we enter the final phase of our development program.” The new Land Rover Defender is set to be revealed in full, peeling off the camo wraps, in September.
Origin: Land Rover makes good use of Defender durability testing by volunteering in Kenya
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The new Land Rover Defender will be revealed in September
2020 Land Rover Defender It’s been over two decades since the Land Rover Defender, the British marquee’s most capable off-roader, has been available for purchase in North America. According to recent insight provided by a brand insider, that dry spell may soon come to an end as the top-tier SUV gets ready to make its international debut in September and lines up for arrival in 2020. Jaguar Land Rover’s communications and PR GM, Tim Krieger, told the Australian publication CarAdvice that the Defender will step into the spotlight this fall, and be delivered to Aussie dealerships starting in 2020. There will be something around Frankfurt (in September),” Krieger told CarAdvice. “Whether it’s at the motor show or whether it’s an out-of-show event, we’re sorting that out at the moment, with Australia in early 2020.” Reading between the lines, and considering how highly Land Rover regards the US market (look closely at the camo and you’ll see that it’s all about USA and legendary off-roading destinations there) we would speculate this means North America will be working with the same timeline. You can add this news to the stack of hints about the upcoming Defender and its release schedule. The brand had already unveiled a series of images of the camouflaged off-roader kicking up dirt in various terrain, and it promised the new Defender would be available for purchase on North American soil in 2020. JLR has already been busy testing it here this year. Thanks to a photographer with speedy reflexes, we’ve also been granted a glimpse under the new Defender. View this post on Instagram My awesome camera dude/bear jerky and Coors swigger @benstanziale crawled under a Land Rover Defender Mule and got these shots of the fully independent rear end. I see a big fat aluminum control arms and air bags (air suspension). You see anything else? Was Land Rover happy? No, but what were they going to do? #hard #landrover #defender @landrover 🇬🇧🕷🇬🇧😉 A post shared by Jonny Lieberman (@jonnylieberman) on Apr 11, 2019 at 8:42pm PDT The upscale 44’s underside (this model, at least) reveals what looks to be a system incorporating air suspension, an anti-roll bar and independent rear suspension. Other spy shots of the interior show that it will have a definite rugged, utilitarian design. We’ll provide updates here just as soon as North American dates have been confirmed by the brand. But Canada is a lot closer to the UK than Australia, so
Origin: The new Land Rover Defender will be revealed in September
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