Honey, I stretched the Defender!
Land Rover has been spied winter testing its longer Defender 130 model which will offer up to eight seats.
Setting the Defender 130 apart from its Defender 110 sibling is a longer rear overhang for an improved third-row of seating and more cargo space.
The Defender 130 retains similar design cues as the Defender 110 though with squares of body-colour on the C-pillars and squared-off windows.
The stretched Defender is expected offer the alpine windows on the roof like the the Defender 90 and 110, as depicted in recent patent images, but the spied prototype has camouflage covering this section.
From both directly in front and behind, the Defender 130 seems to be virtually indistinguishable from the 110.
One interesting part of the spied Defender 130 prototype is it’s missing the rear-mounted spare wheel which emphasises the the boxy rear end.
The Land Rover Defender 130 is expected to be revealed at some stage during 2022, and earlier reports indicate it may be available in higher-end trims albeit with a similarly wide range of powertrains to the 90 and 110.
Five engines are currently available in the local Defender range.
Diesel models are powered by a 3.0-litre inline-six turbo-diesel engine with a 48V mild-hybrid system, producing 183kW of power and 570Nm of torque in the Defender D250, and 220kW and 650Nm in the Defender D300.
The Defender P300 uses a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with 221kW and 400Nm. Above it sits the Defender P400, which features a 3.0-litre turbocharged inline-six with 48V mild-hybrid technology, producing 294kW and 550Nm.
The range-topping P525 V8 uses a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine producing 386kW and 625Nm. Finally, the P400e plug-in hybrid with 19.2kWh battery might also be made available.
All Land Rover Defender models are currently mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive with high- and low-range gearing.
Plans for this stretched Defender were leaked ahead of the line’s launch in 2019, with a presentation slide revealing the 130’s profile.
The Defender 130 will use the same 3022mm wheelbase as the 110, though the total length will be extended from 4758mm to around 5100mm. Those measurements exclude the rear-mounted spare wheel.
For comparison, a Range Rover Sport measures 4879mm long, a Nissan Patrol is 5175mm long, the Jeep Grand Cherokee L measures 5204mm and the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series is 4980-5015mm long, depending on the variant.
The longer rear will provide more room for third row occupants. The Defender 110 currently offers an optional third row of seating though it isn’t as spacious as the Discovery.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) chief financial officer Adrian Mardell said on a call with investors earlier in 2021 the 130 will boost Defender sales in markets such as North America, China and the Middle East.
It isn’t expected to be the last Defender derivative, with a ute mooted and Autocar reporting Land Rover could introduce a luxury version using the Range Rover’s MLA platform.
The Defender 130 will give the Discovery even more internal competition.
JLR Australia said in July 2021 the Discovery isn’t being cannibalised, particularly now that it’s been repositioned with higher levels with higher levels of standard equipment and a base price above $100,000.
However, the Defender 130 is expected to attract a premium over the 110, which could push it directly into Discovery’s price range.
The Defender 110 range currently starts at $79,830 before on-road costs for the P300, and extends to $220,530 before on-road costs for the P525 V8.
