In 2011, Land Rover unveiled the DC100 concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The styling exercises were meant to show what a next-generation Land Rover Defender could look like. The brand got plenty of good feedback, but the Defender faithful made contrary noises, berating the concept for looking like a toy truck and decidedly not rugged. A year later, LR Design Director Gerry McGovern said the new Defender wouldn't look like the DC100 concept. Apparently, the new Defender did not get that memo. Instagram user "shedlocktwothousand" posted a photo of the coming SUV on the set of the James Bond film "No Time to Die," and, well, it looks like the DC100 concept with four doors and a squared-off front end. Even the half-lidded headlights inside a squared-off frame and the upper grille motif from the DC100 Expedition concept remain.
Seeing that the mid-length Defender 110 version is expected to launch first, we'll guess this is that model. It's impossible to know how much of the movie vehicle has been changed from the production version — that extra-clean winch setup, for instance, is likely film-specific. However, the front-end is probably production-spec otherwise, and in addition to imposing a vertical front end, the design details add a bucket of chunk so the Defender can make the right impression. You won't be able to store a spare tire on the hood, but the tread plates on the fenders are an old-school Defender touch, as are the Alpine windows toward the back of the roof. Shedlocktwothousand wrote that the rear doors would be too wide to open in a Tesco car park, but it's hard to tell from the angle. The frameless windows are gone, replaced by meaty door framing, and the angled vent on the DC100 ahead of the front looks to have been swapped for a rectangular unit. And we hope the stock Defender offers a suspension option that jacks up the ground clearance to match this rig.
The real deal should be preparing for its coming out at next month's Frankfurt Motor Show. After the 110 version, 90 and 130 lengths will follow. Six engines are on the menu, three powered by diesel and three by gasoline. The diesels range will be a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 197 horsepower, another with 237 hp, and a 3.0-liter six-cylinder with 296 hp. The three gas options are a 2.0-liter with 296 hp, a 398 hp plug-in hybrid likely with that 2.0-liter heart, and a 395-hp, 3.0-liter six-cylinder.
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