80 SEPTEMBER 2019 WWW.SHOOTINGGAZETTE.CO.UKTHE REVIEWT
herehasneverbeena
caraseagerlyawaitedby
theshootingfraternity
asthenewLandRoverDefender.
Eversincetheoldonewentout
ofproductiona fewyearsago,I
havebeenaskedatprettymuch
everyshootI’vebeenonif it’s
goingtobeanygood.
Ispenta fewdaysworking
behindthescenesatthe
GoodwoodFestivalofSpeed
andtherewasa camouflaged
onesteamingupanddownthe
hillwithJaguarLandRover’s
chiefengineerMikeCross
(andoccasionallytheDukeof
Richmond&Gordon)atthe
wheel,andI hada goodlook.
Therehavebeenlotsof
increasinglyjuicyleaksabout
thecaraheadofitsOctober
unveiling,notleastfromLand
Roverthemselves.Oneofthe
canniestPRteamsaround
hasrevealedpicturesofthe
carwithPrinceHarryatthe
InvictusGames,testingona
14,000-hectareAfricanwildlife
reserve and, although theyMotoringInsiderdealing
If thenewDefendersoundsa bitsoftforyou,perhapsyou
shouldwaitanextrayeartoseewhatoneofBritain’srichest
men,JimRadcliffe,hasinmindwithhisIneosGrenadier
project.Thepetro-chemicalsbillionairehassaidthathisnew
4x4willreallybetakingupwheretheoldDefenderleftoff,with
a ladderframechassisanda hose-downinterior.claimit wasn’tanythingtodo
withthem,testingroundthe
WestMidlandsonpressday
oftheGenevaMotorShow,
therebystealingthethunderof
theirGermancompetitors.
Someleakshavebeenless
welcome,butdoenableusto
knowthatthisisgoingtobea
verycontroversialmotorcar
indeed.MyshootingchumBob
Doverlookedatdoinga new
Defenderwhenhewasrunning
LandRoverandcouldnever
finda waytoupdatetheicon
withoutwindingupitsrather
fanaticalfans.Whateveryone
issureofisthatthosefansare
goingtohatethenewDefender,
because it isn’t the old one.However,asoneofthose
fans,I cansaythateverything
thatI sawandhearismaking
mereallylookforwardtothe
newcar.It ismoreofa new
designthan,say,thenewMerc
G-Wagenis,butyoucanalready
tellthattheproportionsare
spoton.Therewillalsobethree
sizes,liketherewereoftheold
car,soa shortwheelbase90,
longwheelbase 110 and very
long 130 version.
LandRoverisworkingvery
hardtomakeit asgood,or
better,thantheoldoneoff
road.Onroad,it shouldbe
incomparablybetter,witha
rangeoffourandsixcylinder
petrol and diesel engines, andevena plug-inhybrid.It’salso
workingonmakingit rather
morereliable,sohasalready
done1.2mkilometresof
testing,fromAfricatotheArctic
CircleandfromDeathValley
inNevadatotheNürburgring.
Mostimportantly,they’vealso
beenpoundingtheoff-road
routesatEastnorCastle in
Herefordshire.
Ifyouwerehopingthatit
wouldbea £25,000workhorse,
I’mafraidthatyou’regoing
tobedisappointedasthe
rumourssayyouwon’tgeta
lotofchangefrom£40,000
forthebasemodel,andthat
you’llbeabletospenda lot
morethanthatif yougofora
top-of-the-rangejob.However,
if youthinkofit asbeingmore
ofa successortothewonderful
Discovery4 thantherather
RangeRover-ishDiscovery 5
hasturnedouttobe,thenit
shouldturnouttobeoneofthe
mostexcitingcarsaroundwhen
it finallystarts getting delivered
next year.Land Rover DefenderBen Samuelson examines what we know so far.