New Land Rover rolls off the line
2007 model features 'significant upgrades'
Land Rover Defender
Land Rover employees were present to celebrate this important milestone which marks the continued success of the iconic model which began life in 1948.
On sale this spring, Land Rover said the 2007 model "will feature significant upgrades to enhance the ownership experience and meet forthcoming legislation."
There's a new 2.4-litre four-cylinder diesel engine with more torque and a six-speed manual 'box with wider ratios and for better motorway cruising and off-roading.
The cabin's new too, with new heating and ventilation systems -- and it even gets aircon as an option. LR's turning the sideways seats at the rear through 90 degrees to face forwards for safety reasons.
Unchanged are the Defender's ladder-frame chassis and aluminium bodywork, along with 90-, 110- and 130-inch wheelbases, and with a range of body shapes and sizes.
“Defender remains a significant contributor to the business as well as an enduring symbol of Land Rover’s 4x4 heritage,” said LR boss Phil Popham. “Its simple concept hasn’t changed fundamentally over the years, but it remains as relevant as ever.
“Defender continues to play a vital role for emergency services, aid workers and farmers around the world. As we grow Land Rover we’re not forgetting our core values and our traditional customers.”
The Defender name was introduced in 1990 but the model is a direct descendant of the original Land Rover introduced in 1948.
The extension to the long life of Defender, which has been in production in various models since 1948, will preserve more than 750 jobs at the Solihull factory where it is produced alongside the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Discovery 3.
Annual production of Defender has remained consistent at around 25,000 units in recent years, with much of the demand coming from large contract orders, said LR. For example, the Italian energy distribution company, Ente Nazionale Elettricita, recently placed an order for over 900 Defenders.
Around two thirds of all the 1.8 million Land Rovers produced are still in use.
This phrase is utter marketing rubbish! It may be factually right, but it suggests that Land Rovers are not thrown away early. However, two thirds of all Land Rovers were probably manufactured in the last 15 years.
yes, old Land Rovers are actually not thrown away early, but that might not take on with the later 66% of the existing cars
This phrase is utter marketing rubbish! It may be factually right, but it suggests that Land Rovers are not thrown away early. However, two thirds of all Land Rovers were probably manufactured in the last 15 years.
yes, old Land Rovers are actually not thrown away early, but that might not take on with the later 66% of the existing cars
I think you will find that this statement is pretty much true, up until a couple of years ago IIRC there was about 75 - 80% of Land Rovers were in use.
Errr No. the wildcat is a purpose built chassis / frame with a body on it to look like one of these (unless you saw the one at Autosport which now has a body like the RR Sport IIRC)
Wonder if those Top Gear boys ever tried killing one of them-like with the Toyota Pick-up ??
wouldn't make good TV, at least the Toyota looked like it was getting beaten up ... you wouldnt be able to tell with the Landie
Wonder if those Top Gear boys ever tried killing one of them-like with the Toyota Pick-up ??
wouldn't make good TV, at least the Toyota looked like it was getting beaten up ... you wouldnt be able to tell with the Landie
I'd feel a pand of guilt about doing that to a classic British automotive icon too. Similarly, you'd happily crash an old Lexus for comic effect but could you bring yourself to trash a Jaguar? Exactly...
What really, really drove me nuts, what had me seething at 2am, was that every possible corner that could be cut had been cut. Why come up with a proper engineering solution when we can bend this bit of tin and tap half a turn of thread into it? So it'll strip the first time someone undoes it, who cares, we'll be in the pub by then..... The fact I also stripped a 70's Merc 3.0Td at the same time (built like a swiss watch) just rubbed salt in the wounds!
I'm sure they're a bit better these days, but I wouldn't touch one unless it'd been rebuilt from the ground up by someone like Bowler.
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