Deluge of Details: New Land Rover Defender Leaks Have Emerged

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

A batch of new leaks on the Land Rover Defender have indicated that the model will come in a trio of body styles, one of which is supposed to seat eight, and offer quite a bit of variance between trims.

Defender “leaks” are nothing new; the manufacturer has been parsing out camouflaged body shots for months. While this marketing strategy left us feeling burnt out on Toyota’s Supra prior to its debut, JLR has exercised a bit more restraint, encouraging some enthusiast-based espionage — which is far more fun.

The details come to us via the Discovery focused, Land Rover fan site DISCO4 and include a bevy of internal documents presumably intended for a corporate presentation. They stipulate the three-door Defender 90 will have five and six-seat versions and arrive in March of 2020. At 4,323 mm (170.1 inches), it’s significantly longer than the previous generation. But it’s also shorter, at 1,927 mm (75.8 inches), and wider, at 1,999 mm (78.7 inches), with a wheelbase of 2,587 mm (102 inches).

Meanwhile, the Defender 110 and 130 will share the majority of their dimensions. The five-door 110 will be flexible enough to configured for five, six and seven passengers. Its length comes in at 4,758 mm (187.3 inches), with height coming in at 1,916 (75.4 inches), girth is sitting at 1,999 mm (78.7 inches), and a wheelbase of 3,022 mm (118.9 inches). It’ll be the first of the three to launch, showing up in October of this year.

All of those proportions are identical on the Defender 130, save for length — which is 5,100 mm (200.7 inches) to accommodate for eight seats. The documents state that it’s scheduled to appear in August of next year as a 2021 model-year vehicle.

While we like the classic, inch-based naming strategy for Defender models, we can’t help but notice they’re all meaningless due to the upscaled wheelbases. But we’re not going to complain more than we just did. After all, it’s not the first time something like this has happened within the industry… or the twelfth.

Powertrain offerings included in the documents are likely incomplete; we keep hearing rumors about a BEV. But it does show the 90 and 110 with three gasoline engines and an identical number of diesels — each with automatic trannys and all-wheel drive. The base gasoline engine will be the P300, followed by the P400 and P400e plug-in hybrid. The diesels will be the D200, D240, and D300.

Sadly, the resolution of that particular document is absolutely terrible and forces us to get creative with the claimed power specifications. But the gasoline engines appear to be operating between 295 and 394 hp, with torque spanning from 295 to 476 lb-ft. Diesel models will be rocking between 197 and 295 hp with torque spread across 317 and 480 foot-pounds. Of course, this is all dependent upon the validity of the documents, which engine you buy, and how good your author’s beady little eyes are.

The Defender’s claimed 0-100 kph were slightly easier to decipher, with the fastest diesel (the D300) taking 7.4 seconds. Gas-burning units were quicker, with the base P300 hitting the mark in 7.3 seconds. The P400 appears to be capable of doing the same in 5.9 seconds, regardless of whether or not it’s the hybrid.

One of the slides also does a summary of the trim levels. Those include Standard, S, SE, HSE, and X. The differences here include fancier lamps, nicer seats, better speakers, and more driver assistance features the closer you get to the X trim. But Automotive News also reported that Defender will have four personalization lines with different accessories and features catering to a customer’s lifestyle. Confirmed by the manufacturer, those will be:

Country for weekends in the countryside.

Adventure with features making it something like an SUV “grand tourer.”

Urban for cities and the suburbs. It is expected that this option will be popular for the three-door 90 model.

Explorer with features that make it a “go anywhere” off roader.

The only other noteworthy leak is an image, shared on Instagram over the weekend, that shows an unfinished production version of the Defender. Unfortunately, Land Rover has gently disavowed it. “Land Rover is aware of an unofficial image in circulation. Through the development of any new vehicle many design options are considered,” a spokesperson informed Road and Track. “We will not comment any further at this time. Land Rover does not comment on future product plans.”

Taking Rover’s claims into account, it still looks pretty legit to us. If this is a fake, someone put a decent amount of effort behind it.

[Images: Jaguar Land Rover]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • Dukeisduke Dukeisduke on Jul 02, 2019

    What kind of leaks? Oil leaks? Transmission leaks?

    • See 1 previous
    • RHD RHD on Jul 03, 2019

      @Lie2me British vehicles are legendary at leaking, especially the classic convertibles. This particular "leak" was deliberate, though.

  • Hummer Hummer on Jul 02, 2019

    This just keeps getting worse, this minivan is supposed to be the flagship of LR? As soon as the crossover fad ends this whole brand is sunk. Demand for SUVs is pretty constant, demand for minivans and crossovers are dependent on what’s in style. Now that LR only sells minivans with zero capability they have officially put every egg into one flimsy basket. Worse yet is those old SUVs are what builds brand image, no new capable SUVs are going to make this brand one lonely showroom. I guess they can get rid of all of those simulated off-road courses the dealerships have?

  • AZFelix Hilux technical, preferably with a swivel mount.
  • ToolGuy This is the kind of thing you get when you give people faster internet.
  • ToolGuy North America is already the greatest country on the planet, and I have learned to be careful about what I wish for in terms of making changes. I mean, if Greenland wants to buy JDM vehicles, isn't that for the Danes to decide?
  • ToolGuy Once again my home did not catch on fire and my fire extinguisher(s) stayed in the closet, unused. I guess I threw my money away on fire extinguishers.(And by fire extinguishers I mean nuclear missiles.)
  • Carson D The UAW has succeeded in organizing a US VW plant before. There's a reason they don't teach history in the schools any longer. People wouldn't make the same mistakes.
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