AUTOMOTIVE words and photos by TOM STRONGMAN
THE ALL-NEW 2020 DEFENDER
Land Rover Redesigns an Icon for the Future. Redesigning an icon is never easy, but Land Rover has succeeded in crafting a new Defender that embodies 70 years of Land Rover DNA in a package that is both handsome and practical. “The new Defender is respectful of its past but is not harnessed by it,” said Gerry McGovern, Land Rover’s chief design officer, in press materials. “This is a new Defender for a New Age. Its unique personality is accentuated by its distinctive silhouette and optimum proportions, which make it both highly desirable and seriously capable – a visually compelling 4x4 that wears its design and engineering integrity with uncompromised commitment.” The Defender has a lightweight all-aluminum monocoque, or unibody, structure that is three times more rigid than a traditional body-on-frame design. There are two versions: a short-wheelbase twodoor Defender 90 that will be available later in the year and a four-door, long-wheelbase Defender 110. The base Defender, with a turbocharged fourcylinder engine that puts out 296 horsepower, begins at $49,900. The Defender S starts at $53,350. Moving up to the Defender SE P400, with a mild-hybrid-electric six-cylinder engine pumping out 395 horsepower, the base price is $62,250. The Defender HSE is $68,350, the Defender First Edition is $68,650 and the Defender X begins at $80,900.
24 | TODAY KANSAS CITY | FALL 2020