Land Rover Defender to get huge 130 version

Friday, 29 October 2021

The Stuff Top Large SUV for 2020 is the Land Rover Defender.

A new Land Rover Defender is coming. It’s not an EV, nor a hybrid – it’s the 130 version that slots above the two-door 90 and four-door 110.

The images, obtained by Motor.es, show the new Defender sporting a similar shape to the current 110 from the nose until the rear wheels. Then we can see a larger wagon-like boot hanging over the rear axle, which will improve room for third-row occupants and add more storage space.

It seems the 130 will use the 110’s wheelbase, but the new rear end will extend the overall length from 5018mm out to 5105mm. Internal documents have described the 130 as a “premium explorer”, which sounds about right. Width and height are expected to be around the same as the 110 Defender.

The new Land Rover Defender 130 could look like this, if these patents are accurate.

That five-metre-plus length is around 200-300mm longer than the likes of the Ford Everest and the Toyota Fortuner, which are both ute-based large SUVs. Could Land Rover then use the 130 as a base for a Defender ute?

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Expect styling to look similar to the existing Land Rover Defender 90 and 110 variants.

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It would seem so, considering LR has already heavily hinted at such a model entering the Defender family. Back in February, Jaguar Land Rover’s executive director of vehicle programmes, Nick Collins, said that a Defender ute is definitely possible and there is enough customer demand to justify building it.

He confirmed “there were no structural limitations” to a Defender pick-up and that “you can make a pick-up from a monocoque”. All utes currently on sale in New Zealand use a ladder-frame chassis. Of course, Land Rover could also make a ute from the 110 and 90 versions as well, targeting more premium buyers as opposed to the Ranger and Hilux market.

A Defender ute would go toe-to-toe with the Jeep Gladiator, as well as the Ineos Grenadier, which has been confirmed to get a ute version in the near future.

If it does come to fruition, it could come to New Zealand with either the 2.0-litre turbodiesel four-cylinder engine making 177kW/430Nm or the 3.0-litre petrol turbocharged straight-six with 298kW/550Nm.