2012 Land Rover Defender Concept 100 review and pictures
Posted on Thursday, 5 January 2012 , 12:01:12 byVeronica
Filed under Land RoverConceptsSUVEuropean
The New Delhi Auto Expo 2012 hosted the debut of Land Rover's Defender Concept 100 and Defender Concept 100 Sport, concepts that investigate the potential design direction which aims to replace the iconic Defender. Land Rover Global Brand Director, John Edwards, stated that the Defender had always proved to be the heart of the Land Rover Brand, beautifully defining the go-anywhere and can-do spirit. He added that their ambition was to create a completely new Defender suitable for a global market that remained faithful to its original DNA: capable, durable, versatile and tough. The company wanted to introduce the new Defender in the middle of the decade, thus marking the beginning of a new journey. The concepts have significantly been developed since their 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show debut, currently riding on optimised off-road 20-inch alloy wheels shod with Cooper all-terrain tyres. The Defender Concept 100 features an ease of positioning, a strong shoulder line for visibility, an upright windscreen, vertical panels, departure angles and short overhangs for extreme approach, features that reinvent the essential Defender design cues for the 21st century. Covered in Firenze Red, the Defender Concept 100 Sport adds a spirit of freedom to the features mentioned previously, resulting in a concept that bursts with California cool. Both concepts comprise attributes of versatility and capability, completed by a number of technical advances that considerably reduce the workload on the driver. The car will also be optimised for any conditions without driver pre-selection due to the Land Rover's acclaimed Terrain Response system, while a new Terrain-i system develops an intelligent map of the topography in front of the car and displays it as a 3D visualisation. Furthermore, the Wade Aid system advises on the safest speed, selects a low gear, raises the ride height and closes the body vents in order to optimise the car for water crossings. The Defender concepts reduce the environmental impact as sustainability has always been a Land Rover hallmark, beginning with a Twin-Solenoid Stop/Start system paired to the latest eight-speed automatic gearbox, implying that, in the future, it will be a hybridisation.
