When it comes to off-roading, Land Rover has a huge reputation to uphold, but can it do so with a switch to electric power? According to Defender brand director Mark Cameron, speaking with the U.K.’s Autocar, it can come close, and the new Defender Sport EV coming next year will be “class-leading in the attributes that make it a Defender.” This means all-wheel drive is all but confirmed, hinting at a dual-motor setup.
That said, he conceded that the original gas-powered Defender will still be better in some ways, as we’ll discuss later. He told the publication that development of the new model is in advanced stages, though he wouldn’t say exactly when it will arrive, nor would he confirm that it will use the Sport name. Some reports suggest it will abide by existing naming conventions, adopting the moniker ‘Defender 80.’
Why a New Type of Defender Is Coming
SH Proshots/Autoblog
In 2023, JLR decided that instead of housing all its products under the Jaguar Land Rover umbrella, it would spin off Range Rover, Discovery, Defender, and Jaguar as separate sub-brands. Defender has several iterations of its luxury off-road SUV — 90, 110, 130, and Octa — but these are all closely related, and the addition of a new model, whether called Defender Sport, Defender 80, or something new, is meant to consolidate Defender’s status as a standalone brand. Specifically, Cameron said Defender is a “luxury lifestyle brand,” adding that he’ll use the next seven to 10 years “to build out this whole brand portfolio.” While differentiation will be important, Cameron said, “We’ve got to make sure everything we do as Defender has the DNA of the brand: epic, built-to-last, go-anywhere capability.”
This will be challenging but also present opportunities because the new vehicle, which has been spied covered in extensive camouflage, will be an all-new vehicle, not an electric Defender 90. The new product will be produced on JLR’s EMA platform, which will also underpin a new Range Rover.
Land Rover’s New Defender EV Will Have Shortcomings
SH Proshots/Autoblog
With under-floor batteries, Cameron conceded that there will be unavoidable “vehicle constraints,” though he implied that the vehicle’s size will hold it back, not its electric bones, saying, “The size of the vehicle and platform will probably reduce wheel travel and articulation compared with a current Defender.” We expect the same from Mercedes-Benz’s upcoming baby G-Class. In addition, creating a Defender-like silhouette makes long range difficult to achieve. Cameron said that people expect a Defender product to have “very upright, sharp window angles [and] a bluff rear end,” and those attributes bring aerodynamic challenges, but stray too far into a smooth shape, and “we become another SUV brand, and there are plenty of those.”
The Defender brand will continue to offer combustion powertrains for as long as possible, and it hopes to expand its offerings — a Defender pickup has not been ruled out — but it will be some time before we see the first Defender EV uncovered, as the brand wants to go through at least two winter and two summer cycles of development. JLR hopes that these long development cycles will result in the quality that people have come to expect from its brands. But with the U.S. now Defender’s biggest market, it remains to be seen how successful its first EV will be.
Related: Meet The World’s First Modern Defender Pickup
