Land Rover Defender

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Tourist Defender in Namibia

The Land Rover (from 1990 Land Rover Defender ) is an off-road vehicle made by the British car manufacturer Land Rover . More than two million vehicles were produced between 1948 and 2016. The off-road vehicle is one of the classics of automotive history.

In September 2019 Land Rover presented the completely redesigned Defender L663 .

history

Land Rover Defender 130
Defender 110 CSW (2004)
Defender 90 (2007)

The Rover company , later Land Rover, built the vehicle of the same name from 1948, which became famous not least through the television series Daktari . The first three model series were designated Land Rover Series I, II and III . The fourth series (from autumn 1983) was initially marketed under the name One Ten (110) or Ninety (90), which corresponds to the wheelbase in inches . Significant technical changes were the suspension of the rigid axles on control arms with coil springs instead of leaf springs and new diesel engines.

In autumn 1989, when the Discovery was introduced, a differentiation of the model names became necessary. The car originally called Land Rover was now called "Land Rover Defender" from September 1990. In the spring of 2007, a new line of Defenders came onto the market. Externally, some details have been changed (e.g. the ventilation flaps under the windshield are missing and a bulge in the bonnet has been added) and the cockpit and seats have also been changed. However, the main changes were a new engine and six-speed gearbox. In the last generation of the Defender model, a Ford four-cylinder diesel engine was used, which was also used in the Ford Transit and complied with the Euro 4 emissions standard. The Land Rover series was originally developed for civil use in agriculture. Soon the Land Rover also proved itself on expeditions. It was only later that the vehicle was used militarily, and the British armed forces made it one of their standard vehicles in 1956. Also in 2014, the Defender was used by the military and humanitarian aid organizations in many crisis areas around the world.

The Land Rover was known for its robustness. According to the company's press spokesman, 75 percent of all Defenders ever built (including previous models under the Land Rover name ) are still in use. Therefore, spare parts for the first series are also available up to the present (as of 2007).

After 68 years of construction, production of the Land Rover Defender was finally stopped on January 29, 2016 after more than 2 million copies. The shape was no longer compatible with the EU guidelines on pedestrian protection . As a farewell, Land Rover celebrated its successful model with a kilometer-sized sand painting on the beach in Welsh Red Wharf Bay, plowed by six Land Rover models from past decades. Legend has it that the inventor of the Defender, Maurice Wilks, drew his first model sketch in the sand on this beach in 1947.

In its final year, the Defender appeared in three special models; the Land Rover Defender Autobiography Edition, the Land Rover Defender Adventure Edition and the Land Rover Defender Heritage Edition. The Defender was also used in the English royal house by Queen Elizabeth II .

variants

Defender 130 Crew Cab
Defender 147 at the Land Rover Factory Museum in Gaydon , United Kingdom

The Defender has a modular structure. The roof can be removed with relatively little effort and a closed vehicle can be converted into one with a tarpaulin. The three basic model variants have three wheelbases (90, 110, 130 inches ). Different roof types (station wagon: closed with windows, hard top: closed without windows, soft top: tarpaulin, etc.) can be combined with the same lower body part:

  • Defender 90 County Station-Wagon (CSW), Hardtop (HT), Plane (Soft Top, ST), Pickup (PU)
  • Defender 110 County Station-Wagon (CSW), Hardtop (HT), Pickup (PU), High Capacity Pickup (HCPU), Double Cab Pickup (DCPU)
  • Defender 130 (also known as 127 from 1986 to 1990) as a pickup with a double or single cab
  • Defender 147 (stretched 6-door variant of Land Rover South Africa)

The numbers in the model names traditionally indicate the wheelbases in inches. However, the Defender deviates from this in favor of rounded numbers. So is the Defender 90 z. B. the wheelbase 93 inches, the Defender 130 127 inches. The model series 90 and 110 have classic white painted steel wheels or five-spoke light alloy wheels. The 130 series is only available with steel wheels. The Defender 90 was known as "Ninety" and the Defender 110 as "One Ten" until it was renamed in September 1990. The Defender can pull a high towing load: with an overrun brake it is 3500 kg, with a continuous brake system (compressed air) it is 5000 kg, and with the current series even 6000 kg.

Motorization

In Germany, from the 2012 model year, the Defender was only available with a 2.2-liter diesel engine, as the 2.4-liter turbodiesel with direct injection that was previously used from 2007 did not meet the Euro 5 emissions standard . In the mid-1990s, the 200 series became the 300 Tdi series with 83 kW (113 hp) at 4000 rpm. When Land Rover belonged to BMW, the Td5 variant was introduced as a 5-cylinder diesel with a pump-nozzle system and an output of 90 kW (122 hp) at 4200 rpm. The engine came from a series newly developed by Rover, which was originally intended to range from the four-cylinder (Td4) to the six-cylinder (Td6), but was then tipped over to the well-known Td5 when it was taken over by BMW. The maximum torque of the engine was 300 Nm at 1,950 rpm. The powerful V8 version was not directly available in Germany (with the exception of the 50-years-jubilee edition, which was also sold in Germany with the V8 - even if only in small numbers). With the takeover of Land Rover by Ford in 2000, the Defender was redesigned.

In May 2007 the new model with the same name came onto the market. The changes in appearance were minor. Inside, the modern dashboard and new seats stood out. These were necessary because the previous longitudinal arrangement of the rear seats on the 90 and 110 was no longer permitted. Outwardly, what caught the eye was a bonnet that was partly higher and needed to accommodate the new engine: a 2.4-liter four-cylinder diesel engine developed by the parent company Ford. With 90 kW (122 hp) the engine had the same output as its predecessor, but complied with the Euro 4 emissions standard. With common rail instead of pump-nozzle injection, the new engine achieved better performance values ​​and was also significantly quieter than the Td5. The vehicle also received a new six-speed gearbox. The shorter first gear ratio, in combination with the higher torque, should make off-road driving easier. The improved acceleration in the individual gears enables the sixth gear to be more than 20 percent longer, which should result in smoother running and comfort as well as lower consumption. Because of the new heating and ventilation system, the classic ventilation flaps directly under the windscreen were no longer necessary.

Technical details

Defender 110, special model "Experience Bolivia" (2012)

The Defender had a sturdy box frame ; this led to an empty weight of over 1800 kg, although the body was made of sheet aluminum (on a tubular steel frame). The high weight and great aerodynamic drag of the body limited the performance on the road: The Defender with 300Tdi engine reaches 129 km / h at a high noise level, the Td5 almost 138 km / h (manufacturer information). In the Td4 version with a 2.4-liter Ford engine, the top speed was electronically limited to around 130 km / h.

The very short off-road gear ratio, the permanent all-wheel drive with lockable center differential and the high possible axle articulation as well as a fording depth (water passages) of 50 cm result in good off-road mobility. A special feature of the Defender is the function of the handbrake, which does not act on the wheels as in other vehicles, but (as in the Nissan Patrol GR) directly on the cardan shaft to the rear axle; by locking the center differential, it acts on all wheels. Diesel consumption is 10 to 11 l / 100 km. The equipment variants last offered include ABS and ESP, in some cases also electric windows and central locking. However, airbags were still absent.

In the field of lightweight, all-wheel drive utility vehicles, the Land Rover Defender was next to the Toyota Land Cruiser one of the last series vehicles, the factory about the possibility of a power take-off disposal.

Fire brigade, rescue services and civil protection

The aluminum structure with a tight interior and comfort meant that the Land Rover Defender offers more payload than any other off-road vehicle in the 3.5 ton class built at the time. It is therefore used as a "Camion Citerne pour Feux de forêt Léger" (CCFL, small fire-fighting vehicle for fighting vegetation fires), pre-equipment vehicle, mountain rescue equipment vehicle or off-road ambulance. If you put the body of a 3.5-ton Defender instead on the ladder frame of a Mercedes-Benz G Professional or Bremach , the result is a 3.7 to 4-ton truck that cannot be driven with a class B driving license .

Military use

With the exception of two models, Land Rover had developed all vehicles for the civil market. Only the Military Land Rover and the Model 101 were developments for the military market. The British Ministry of Defense (MOD) and armies from other countries already use the Land Rover from Series II onwards. Series IV (Ninety, OneTen, Defender) is used in many variants. So as: TUL (Truck Utility light) (90) and TUM (Truck Utility Medium) (110, 130).

Land Rover Wolf

Land Rover Wolf

The military variants of the Defender were marketed under the name Land Rover Wolf from 1996. The vehicles are specially revised variants of the Defender TDi. At least 27 equipment variants are known from different contracts.

Military Land Rover "Lightweight"

With the Military Land Rover, for which the colloquial term "lightweight" had become naturalized, although it was not lighter, but about 140 kg heavier than the civilian version, Land Rover worked together with the British Ministry of Defense during the development.

Land Rover Defender Works V8

In January 2018, on the occasion of the 70th birthday of the off-road vehicle, Land Rover announced that it would continue to build the Defender in a special version limited to 150 copies. This variant, called Land Rover Defender Works V8 , is powered by the five-liter V8 petrol engine known from the Range Rover . Land Rover does not use a compressor in the Defender Works V8. The naturally aspirated engine has an output of 298 kW (405 hp) with a maximum torque of 515 Nm. To bring the performance to the road, the Defender Works V8 has a sports chassis with modified springs, stabilizers and shock absorbers. Land Rover also improved the braking system. The off-road vehicle should accelerate to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds, and the manufacturer specifies a top speed of 106 mph. The special model is available both as Defender 90 and Defender 110. Since the special model only meets the Euro 5 emissions standard, road approval in Germany is not guaranteed. The Defender Works V8 starts at £ 150,000 .

Land Rover Defender Concept 100

Defender Concept 100

The Defender Concept 100 is a concept vehicle from Land Rover and was intended to show what the successor vehicle to the Defender could look like. The automobile was presented to the public in 2011. Gerry McGovern was responsible for the design of the vehicle. The Land Rover was designed in two versions: a 3-door off-road vehicle with a diesel engine and an open automobile with a gasoline engine.

New Land Rover Defender from 2020

In spring 2019, Land Rover announced the new edition of the Defender model. Manufactured in a new Jaguar Land Rover plant in Slovakia, the new vehicle shows significant differences from the previous design. Based on a standard platform, the car no longer has a ladder frame and rigid axles, but an aluminum monocoque and independent wheel suspension. The fording depth allows trips in 90 cm deep water. The engine output starts at 200 hp, with diesel and gasoline engines as well as a plug-in hybrid being offered. Sales of the new Defender are scheduled to start in 2020.

Web links

Commons : Land Rover Defender  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. For boulevard and farm. On spiegel.de , May 25, 2007.
  2. ^ End of the road for the Land Rover Defender . The Telegraph, Jan. 28, 2016.
  3. Indestructible and slippery like a refrigerator. On welt.de , July 12, 2012.
  4. Desert spectacle: So Land Rover sends the Defender into retirement. On focus-online.de, January 6, 2015.
  5. ^ New generation of the Land Rover Defender 4x4 favored by the Queen. Daily Mail Online .
  6. http ://www.land-rover-zubehoer- Ersatzteile.de/nebenabtrieb-land-rover/ Information about auxiliary drives
  7. Army spare parts catalog 2320-D-128-711
  8. The Landy returns - for 170,000 euros. On auto-motor-und-sport.de , January 17, 2018
  9. Autocar 13 September 2011
  10. Auto Express September 2011
  11. Jaguar Land Rover opens plant in Slovakia. In: jaguarlandrover.com. Retrieved May 9, 2019 .
  12. Torsten Seibt: Land Rover Defender (2020): Landy goes into the final test round. In: auto-motor-und-sport.de. April 30, 2019, accessed May 9, 2019 .
  13. 2020 Land Rover Defender SUV: what we know so far. In: whatcar.com. Retrieved May 9, 2019 .