Land Rover Trying To Redesign Its Most Iconic Product -- Is It Off To A Good Start? STUD or DUD?

There's one car that represents Land Rover and that, my friends, is the Defender. Sure the Discovery and Range Rover are great ambassadors of the brand but the Defender has been the essence of Land Rover for the better part of several decades.

Hell, you can still find them running in the most exotic and difficult climates the world over.

Long story short, Land Rover is planning on resurrecting the icon but what you see isn't a production-ready concept. According to one of Land Rover's head honchos this is only the beginning of a four-year journey to "...design a relevant Defender for the 21st century."

Aside from that, is this first attempt a STUD or a DUD? What would you do different?

The new Defender is here at last. Auto Express can lift the lid on the long-awaited replacement for the legendary Land Rover after the firm released these first official pictures.

This is the DC100 concept, and it’s set to cause a stir at September’s Frankfurt Motor Show with its futuristic reinvention of the pioneering off-roader’s iconic design.

The car has been confirmed for launch in 2015, and although official details are still scarce, the Land Rover design team – led by Gerry McGovern – has aimed for what it calls a “functional and purposeful design” that celebrates the practicality of the original...

[Source: AutoExpress]

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TauronB2G - 8/31/2011 2:28:22 AM

+6 Boost

Dud DUd DUD
T

motor1 - 8/31/2011 4:35:08 AM

+1 Boost

Stud. It already has a classic and unique design that I think will work well of bringing the Defender well into the 21st century without losing the charm that the Defender has.

OBSERVER1984 - 8/31/2011 5:53:38 AM

+1 Boost

Together with G-Class best offroaders ever!

DuDE - 8/31/2011 6:44:36 AM

+5 Boost

what about the land cruisers?

DuDE - 8/31/2011 6:43:24 AM

+5 Boost

Looks like a FJ cruiser crossed with a mini
not digging it!

PUGPROUD - 8/31/2011 7:39:34 AM

+4 Boost

Not a bad first effort toward next concept leading to a production model. Make it so you can hose out the interior and be sure to have a manual tranny and I'll consider it.

asafianow - 8/31/2011 9:19:00 AM

+4 Boost

Kia Soul on roids and a $40,000 price tag

Joe_Limon - 8/31/2011 10:05:09 AM

+1 Boost

This reminds me of the mini countryman.

DuDE - 8/31/2011 11:40:51 AM

+2 Boost

can see a lil bit of mitsu pajero in the front,FJ cruiser in the side and probably some other at the back!

M35MT - 8/31/2011 1:21:32 PM

+2 Boost

Thank god they still have 4 years to figure this one out...

Side profile is ok but the front end with those head lights is droopy and kind of just ugly.

Deutschland - 8/31/2011 3:15:17 PM

+2 Boost

It needs some work

It needs to look more rugged and tough, the defender is basically a military vehicle like the G-Wagon.

Ferrari365P - 8/31/2011 4:08:12 PM

+2 Boost

Am I the only one who sees a bit of NIssan Xterra in the nose?

Designer1 - 8/31/2011 6:28:12 PM

0 Boost

It's alright.

quizz - 8/31/2011 10:14:31 PM

+1 Boost

FJ Cruiser?

truckman - 9/1/2011 1:26:00 AM

+1 Boost

LR has to ask why people liked the capable well engineered Defender, number one is because it is designed to go off road, it has a lot of suspension flex, ground clearance, large tires, this new car has tires better suited for a subaru/sports car, this new car also looks like it has 4 wheel independent suspension, that would be fine if it has the suspension flex of the original Defender, and traction control is not off road worthy, for something off road worthy you need two selectable lockers , for serious off road with traction control you would potentially get brake fade, and maybe a brake job in a week or two? this may be a nice suv, just not a replacement for the Defender, I would compare this to trying to replace a Corvette with a dump truck, a serious fail.

IhavearedS2000 - 9/1/2011 2:36:55 PM

+2 Boost

It's like a modern day Suzuki Sidekick! For Land Rover - Dud (needs to look more expensive), but for Suzuki? Stud