It’s not exactly a well-kept secret that the Land Rover brand is eager to expand its Defender SUV offering with something perhaps smaller, sportier, more road-friendly and less inclined to kick up dust on the trail. There are already three versions of the current upright, boxy Defender: the most rugged two-door 90 model with V8 power, the most versatile midsize 110 in between, and the largest 130 with a standard third row, all of them engineered with off-roading in mind.
Base Trim Engine
Ingenium 2L ICE
Base Trim Transmission
ZF 8-speed automatic
Base Trim Drivetrain
All-Wheel Drive
Base Trim Horsepower
296 HP @5500 RPM
Base Trim Torque
295 lb.-ft. @ 1500 RPM
Base Trim Battery Type
Lead acid battery
Infotainment & Features
7 /10
But the automaker sees white space in the Defender lineup, perhaps as a smaller four-door model that could be more highway-friendly and coming in at a lower price, intended for higher-volume sales. For now, the least-expensive Defender is the 110 S, starting at $65,450 (with $1,950 destination charge), extending up to $170,650 for the Defender 110 OCTA Black Edition with a 626-horsepower twin-turbo V8. So a Defender Sport – or whatever it is that Jaguar Land Rover decides to call it – could be responding to frustrated consumers crying out for more affordable vehicles.
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One way to keep prices down is to offer more powertrain choices, which seems to be all the rage among automakers in the US now that the Trump administration has removed regulatory barriers that previously encouraged more EVs. This is where Land Rover finds itself as it prepares to introduce this next slender Defender, which was originally planned to be purely electric. Now, that’s no longer the case.
2024 Land Rover Defender 90 V8Land Rover
JLR’s EMA Platform Opens Door To Hybrid Defender
Jaguar Land Rover has announced that the upcoming Defender variant, the second model to launch from the new Electrified Modular Architecture, will be offered as a full hybrid as well as a BEV. The new model, expected to debut late this year for sale in early 2027, has already been spotted testing on UK roads. Mark Cameron, managing director for the Defender and Discovery brands, previously told Autocar that work on the new Defender was “well advanced,” but he didn’t confirm timing for the launch.
Land Rover Defender prototype spy photoCarBuzz/Valnet
While Cameron said the focus was on making Defender “a luxury lifestyle brand,” he also said the product-development team must ensure the Defender’s “epic built-to-last, go-anywhere capability.”
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
Everybody wants cars that are less expensive, and a hybrid version of the “baby” Defender should be less expensive than the existing three Defender trim levels. If Jaguar Land Rover can push US pricing down to the low $50,000 range, the challenge will be to retain enough of the luxury elements to secure its place in the lineup alongside the Range Rover.
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There’s already a template to show Land Rover how to expand its market reach with another version of the Defender, and it should be very familiar. The original Range Rover was downright agricultural when it launched in 1970, but it eventually set the standard for luxury SUVs, earning its brand cachet with well-financed urbanites. Jeep’s done much the same, maintaining the indestructible Wrangler while adding more road-ready models like the Grand Cherokee and the recent Grand Wagoneers and Cherokee. It’s hard for one-trick ponies to survive these days.
Source: Autocar
