I can’t get too snooty about these “new and improved” Defenders since my Series III was produced in Santana, Spain. Far from merry olde England. But there is something so very appealing to me about having an old truck that has been lovingly and meticulously restored. As opposed to a spanking new model that “looks like” the old ones.

A long time coming, Automotive News is now reporting details sourced from Land Rover about a brand-new Defender (UK production of the old model ceased in January 2016). The new Defender should debut in 2019, and is intended for all global markets. Multiple body styles will be available, and the company assures us the new Defender will look plenty Defender-y, without falling into the retro design trap.

Unlike the old Defender’s aluminum panels stamped over a steel frame, the new model will be a modern aluminum unibody, much like the current Range Rover. While many will surely bemoan the Defender’s loss of a traditional frame, it’s quite necessary for crash ratings, emissions standards, comfort, practicality, platform sharing, and probably 210 other reasons. Full story »

And these new Land Rovers will probably be produced in Slovakia.

“Walking into the new Jaguar Land Rover Classic Works facility in Coventry, England — basically a massive 150,000-square-foot repair and restoration shop — the contrast is startling. Ancient, beaten-down Defenders, with their doors barely hanging on and their engines hopeless, rusted hulks, sit on spotless floors under lighting fit for a surgical theater rather than in gritty, equally ancient garages as technicians in crisp uniforms pore over them.”

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