Land Rover, just after building its two-millionth Defender (pictured), looks to be extending final production of the go-anywhere utility into January of next year.
According to Automotive News Europe, the manufacturer will extend production of the Defender and increase production before the new best-before date to meet renewed demand, the company said a statement.
Unfortunately, none of those Defenders will be making it stateside — at least not in new condition. However, Jaguar Land Rover is looking for an additional facility, likely outside of the U.K., in order to expand future production. Contract builder Magna Styr recently signed an agreement with JLR to produce unnamed models in Austria.
The next-generation Defender, which will address tightening safety and emissions standards, is expected to launch in 2018.
Go on, then; rub it in, why don’t you?
Just sell me the shell without a drivetrain or electronics.
An LS powered version would take care of 80% of potential problems.
Good man.
By the way, is there anything an LS engine *hasn’t* been swapped into?
Hummer,
The 3.2 Duratorque with 470Nm of torque with the MT82 6spd is offered in these. Far superior to any V8 that could be used in the Defender.
This will outperform any V8 off road, with the added advantage of going twice as far on the same amount of fuel.
Maybe you should leave the US and see what is available globally. We have many much more capable off roaders available than the US.
Any idea if these real SUV’s are available in Mexico, and what they might go for there?
I seriously consider moving down to Baja where my best friend has lived for years now.
I can speak the language, love the food, think the beaches are great, and the people are for the most part friendly, salt of the earth kind of people.
I could be happy running around in a Defender down there.
While Land Rover might not be my brand of choice, I commend them for continuing to build a real SUV, as so few seem to be doing these days.
I hope real SUV’s have a comeback. By real, I mean it will actually have the ability to do more than not be damaged by a curb. An SUV to me was like a truck. It could do truck things with truck looks and a truck feel.
To anyone in the loop about this, how important were military sales to the existence of the Defender? I ask because I have heard that the discontinuation of the Defender has a lot to do with the British MOD abandoning the design in favor of better protected vehicles. Long story short, the British Army found that even uparmored Defenders were inadequate in Iraq against IED’s and the MOD is now looking to replace their defenders with heavier and better armored vehicles.
Were military sales significant enough that without MOD purchases there is no Defender?
Not specifically Defender-related, but the Humvee is being abandoned for combat roles because they can’t be made IED-resistant. And they are much bigger and more able to take up-armoring than the Defender.
Yeah, I know that Iraq has made armies everywhere rethink their utility vehicles. But I was more wondering to what extent did Defender production rely on military sales.
Whenever I see the Defender it makes me want to repeatedly punch the people who won’t let us have it here in America in the face.
I second that motion, and that feeling…@VenomV12. Reminds me of the stupidity I heard on an NPR show recently. Oyster beds were successfully reintroduced into NY/NJ waters. Suitable for the marketplace, and ecologically great, as each oyster filtered dozens, even hundreds of gallons of water a day.
Must have threatened somebody’s monopoly, because a government agency went to court to have the oyster beds destroyed, under the doctrine of attractive nuisance. Seems the oysters encouraged people to go oystering, as they have done in the Ches Bay for centuries, and someone might get hurt (no seatbelts in those oyster boats, I guess)…so the agency got court permission to dredge up and destroy all of the oysters.
No food, no water purification, and no risk of anyone getting hurt foraging for seafood the way our forefathers did.
To hell in a handbasket…there is no limit to the stupidity that can be promoted by bureaucracies, without the faintest backlash by the voting public.
You can’t blame all of our problems on NAFTA and similar. Some of it is people just being too dumb and too lazy to demand anything different from oyster bed destruction and the prevention of sale of true SUV’s based on some technicality.
Alternative production facilities for the Defender? Hell a blacksmith shop with a hammer and a pair of tin snips could make this thing. Just buy the oily bits off Ebay.
Or China/India??
Enough already with the fawning over the unobtanium. Has anyone driven one of these heaps of junk? I have: it is the second-worst vehicle I’ve ever driven, and I’ve driven some real dogs in my time.
The Defender is an anachronism, it sells only for its looks, it’s no better than a Wrangler off-road and much, much worse on-road. The military don’t want it any more because it’s a 1940s deathtrap. It’s time to let it go.
Any truck currently available in the US, in any configuration, is vastly superior to this overrated relic. Don’t be jealous of the Europeans, be happy that your choices are so much better.
On road they are questionable.
We used to have 130s at work and we were not allowed to exceed 100kph.
Off road it is a different story.
You must remember a trade off occurs as you make any vehicle, whether it be a 2 seat sports car, off roader, commercial vehicle, family car, etc.
The trade off is the loss of capabilities/attributes that make a vehicle perform well in one area diminish as capability is move to enhance other areas of the vehicle performance.
But is there any better way to arrive in a jungle scene in James Bond?
To that I say, no sir!
Still have my trusty Isuzu Trooper…the poor man’s Land Rover.
The idea of the Trooper being a poor man’s Land Rover was precisely what drove me to buy one for myself, and later an A/T version for my wife to haul our infant son in, in the nineties.
Nits and nats of age finally made them too much to deal with, and the wife went to a Corolla, while I departed for a Cherokee Sport (XJ, I believe).
Volando,
The 70 odd Series Toyota Troopy’s are around $10k more expensive than the Defender.
So, it appears the Toyo is a more expensive option. Unless you buy a gas V6 Troopy, with the downgraded engine drivetrain combo.
We only have the V8 turbo diesels here.
It was a sad day when Toyota changed the front end of the 70 series to make room for that V8 diesel.
Wow that LC70 is derpy looking. Modern equipment grafted on an ancient shape.
Defenders are only really cool stateside because of their rarity and looks.
If you’ve ever had to drive one day in and day or or had a fleet of them to use as general purpose utility vehicles in the bush, you’d be pretty happy to dump them at first opportunity in favor of 70 series LandCruisers.
The ones that were sold here in the mid-1990’s (before the airbag requirements drove them out) trade hands for silly money if they are in nice condition – generally for more than they cost new!
I personally don’t get it. For what people are asking for used Defenders with no warranty, you could easily get a brand new Wrangler Rubicon 2-door (or 4-door) with a warranty and a lot more capability out of the box.
Everyone knows that the Defender premium has nothing to do with the vehicle’s actual capabilities or reliability (LOL @ Defender reliability!). They sell for what they do because of the unobtanium status coupled with the general brand status of Land Rover. People are paying a premium for the classic, off-road, Euro aesthetic that can only be had with a vehicle of the Defender’s iconic status… and say what you will of the Defender, it is pretty much the definition of an iconic vehicle.
Jeez, could they put an uglier grille on that thing?
Well, I’m sure Subaru could…
If you look at the grille alone – it reminds me of a wall AC unit in a cheap motel room. It’s complete with dust in the vents as well.
I gotta say, I realize this thing is a legend and all, but it just seems like one of those cars they made because they’d always sell, and out of habit. It’s not particularly good when considered as transportation, and it has been eclipsed by offerings from many other manufacturers.
Regulation is finally killing it, and they’re bringing out another to take its place. It’ll sell too, but never have the history of the original.
Like the VW Combi in Brazil.