Land Rover knows its customers love customising their cars, so contrasting roof colours, decal packs, wheelarch extensions and off-road gear such as chunky roof racks will all be part of the offering.
What platform will underpin the new baby Defender?
The baby Defender will differ from its big brother largely in terms of proportions, which come courtesy of a new EMA platform. Unlike the full-sized model, which runs combustion engines lengthwise under the bonnet, the new electric architecture is packaged more efficiently. This is better for cabin space, but means having a longer front overhang.
The wheelbase is also long in context to the car’s overall length, but like the Defender 90 and 110, it has a very short rear overhang. The car’s windscreen is upright, and while the rear glass in the tailgate isn’t quite vertical, there are some aero devices at the side that will make it appear so. The tailgate will be side-opening, though, and while there’s no spare wheel attached on the prototype we spied, there’s a good chance we’ll see one on the production car.
Inside, expect a more digitised take on the relatively simple and hard-wearing full-sized Defender. Displays will grow in size, and they’ll introduce a new user interface that will also be found on JLR’s future models. There will only be two rows of seating, with no seven-seat option. However a sixth jump seat between the driver and front-seat passenger could be integrated.