2015 Land Rover Defender and the Tata Aria could share platforms! May be produced in Pune, India!

Tata Motors taking over Jaguar-Land Rover is giving rise to a few pleasantly surprising synergies, with the latest buzz suggesting that the next generation 2015 Land Rover Defender could share its platform with the next generation Aria. That ain’t all, the 2015 Defender could be a made-in-India model exported all over the world as a completely knocked down kit, for local assembly elsewhere. Also, the 2015 Defender is expected to feature a body-on-ladder construction. Does this mean that the next generation Aria also will go the body-on-ladder way?

Land Rover DC100 Sport Concept

It seems like as both the Defender and the Aria are set to share the same platform. Also, the 2015 Defender and the Aria Crossover we hear, could use plenty of common parts, ranging from the engines and transmissions to the interiors and the suspension. The main idea behind building the 2015 Defender in India will be to keep a tight leash on costs, thus making the off roader accessible to a large section of buyers. The next gen Aria will also benefit from this alliance as vast improvements in quality levels could be had, making the Aria an outstanding product in its class.

Land Rover DC100 Sport Concept

The 2015 Defender is said to be closely based on the design of the butch and futuristic looking Land Rover DC100 concept. Tata is also building a new engine plant at Chikli for manufacturing engines for the upcoming Jaguar XF 2.2 diesel sedan. This plant is expected to cater to the 2015 Defender as well, with local sourcing for components to reduce costs. All in all, this move is a landmark one when it comes to demonstrate the finesse in Indian build quality to a worldwide audience and Tata Motors really seems to be using the synergies gained from the JLR acquisition to the fullest potential.

Source: ICB

Land Rover Defender Concepts in Firenze Red turn up at Delhi Auto Expo

Land Rover Defender Concept DC100 and DC100 Sport in Firenze Red color

We first saw Land Rover Defender Concept DC100 and DC100 Sport first at September’s 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show, and then again at L.A. in November.

Now Land Rover’s Defender Concept 100 and Defender Concept 100 Sport have made their debut at the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo taking place this week in the Indian capital.

The latest unveiling comes with the usual rhetoric of these concepts being simply an investigation of the potential design direction for a replacement for the iconic Defender. However, this time around we get to see them in a vibrant new color dubbed Firenze Red.

Core Land Rover attributes of capability and versatility are underpinned in both concepts by several advanced off-road technological aids designed to reduce the workload on the driver. Foremost is the next generation of Land Rover's Terrain Response system, which optimizes the car for any conditions without driver pre-selection.

In addition, a new Terrain-i system creates an intelligent map of the topography in front of the car and displays it as a 3D visualisation. Terrain-i automatically identifies potential hazards and suggests alternative routes. In urban environments the same system is able to identify pedestrians and hazards with great accuracy.

Finally, there’s a new Wade Aid system that utilizes sonar sensors mounted in the bumpers and wing mirrors to measure water depth. As with Terrain Response, Wade Aid will optimize the car for water crossings by closing body vents, raising the ride height, selecting a low gear and advising on the safest speed.

Sustainability has also played an important part in the concept cars' overall design. For example, they are fitted with an intelligent Twin-Solenoid Stop-Start system mated to the latest eight-speed automatic gearbox, both of which have been designed with future hybridization in mind.

There is also a unique Driveline Disconnect system, which sends power to the front-axle only unless conditions demand all-wheel drive. Unlike conventional systems, this physically, rather than electronically, decouples the rear-axle to reduce frictional losses, but it can also reengage drive almost instantaneously. The proposed powerplant is a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine, either gasoline or diesel.

Land Rover expects to launch its new generation of the iconic Defender sometime in the middle of the decade.



More Images:


Source: Motor Authority

Land Rover to unveil Defender concept (DC100) in Frankfurt

The Defender Concept - DC100 from Land Rover

London, Aug. 31: 

Land Rover will unveil the DC100, the concept car for its replacement of the iconic Defender four-by-four, at next month's Frankfurt auto show. It's the latest sign that JLR is ramping up its £5-billion investment drive across the two brands.

Production of the re-designed “Defender for the 21st century” is set for 2015, the company said as it unveiled images of the concept car for the first time.

Over the past few months, JLR, which is targeting 40 product actions in the next five years, spending £1 billion during each of those years, has released a number of new and updated vehicles.

This includes the Range Rover Evoque, which goes on sale in September, and the launch of a four-cylinder diesel version of the XF. It has also announced production dates for its C-X75, a hybrid supercar.

 

Heart of the brand

Analysts believe the latest announcement is one of the most significant steps it has taken to date. 

“The Defender is at the heart of the brand,” said Mr Tim Urquhart, an auto analyst at IHS Global Insight in London.

Though the Defender itself was launched in the 1980s, it dates back to 1948, when the original Land Rover series was launched, since when around 2 million vehicles have been sold.

“It simply has to be done in the right way encapsulating the values of the previous vehicle: being: tough, rugged and reliable and able to go everywhere,” Mr Urquhart added.

The company's description of the concept car as “functional and purposeful” suggests that this will remain key to the new design.

“Replacing the iconic Defender is one of the biggest challenges in the automotive design world,” said Mr Gerry McGovern, the director of design at Land Rover.

Jaguar Land Rover has come to represent an increasingly significant part of Tata Motors: though in the quarter ending June income after tax fell by 10 per cent year-on-year to £220 million.

Earlier we revealed that Land Rover is going to debut 2015 Land Rover Defender in 2011 Frankfurt Auto show. Read here: 2015 Land Rover Defender Concept To Debut Next Month at Frankfurt Motor Show

2015 Land Rover Defender Concept To Debut Next Month at Frankfurt Motor Show

Land Rover reportedly believes its time to make an important decision regarding the future of the Defender, and that means a new model will be developed or the tough SUV will be dropped from the lineup. The time is passing and Land Rover Decided to bring a new Defender concept, which is set to make its debut at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. The purpose of the concept is to see what kind of feedback an all-new model would receive while also demonstrating that Land Rover is serious about continuing the Defender.

John Edwards, brand’s director, says that he ‘can’t imagine not producing a successor’ to the 63 year old four-wheel drive that established the Land Rover brand. Still, much like the Mercedes-Benz Gelandewagen, the Land Rover Defender is widely used by militaries and world organizations and that means it has to be built to some very specific guidelines. The production version is scheduled for release in 2015, and must sell in annual volumes of 60-80,000 units to be viable.

Edwards also says the new Defender needs to be different and unique enough to command a higher price than its large-volume and cheaper rivals, but the price cannot be too high to separate it from the market.

The company is currently exploring the possibility of using a cost and complication-reduced Discovery chassis or engineering a new, bespoke chassis among other options. Its design must allow for the wide range of body types that the Defender has long offered, and needs to be repairable in remote territory and this isn’t quite easy.

Finally, he believes that whatever solution Land Rover finally picks, ‘it won’t please everyone’, because with so many fans and opinions it will be difficult to avoid disappointing some. The challenge is to please most of them and more importantly, attract new buyers to a vehicle of which only 18,000 were made last year.

Land Rover is set to bring a concept version to Frankfurt and perhaps this move is to gauge media and consumer interest in an all-new Defender.

Price: is much too soon to talk about prices, but keep in mind that the 2011 Defender is priced around £30,000.00 (ON-THE-ROAD PRICE for Defender 110 XS Utility Wagon) and the 2015 model will probably be priced slightly higher

Land Rover Will Unveil Defender Concept at 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show

Just the Facts:

• Land Rover will show a Defender concept at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show, as it mulls a replacement for the current model.
• Land Rover considers this car vital because it's where the brand sprang from after World War II, even if most of the business these days is centered on more luxurious vehicles.
• Land Rover may elect to develop a new platform with a separate chassis for the next Defender, allowing a wide variety of vehicle types, as with the current model.

LONDON — Land Rover will show a Defender concept at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show.
The company, now controlled by India's Tata Group, considers this car vital because it's where the brand sprang from after World War II, even if most of the business these days is centered on more luxurious vehicles.

The current Defender dates to 1983 and is a direct descendant of the original 1948 Land Rover Series I.
The business plan for — and the extent of — the new-generation Defender family is the challenge.
Land Rover may elect to develop a new platform with a separate chassis for the next Defender, allowing a wide variety of vehicle types, as with the current model. Or the company could use an adapted, complicated and cost-reduced LR3 chassis. Expect some clever ways of achieving body modularity (to get station wagons, crew-cabs, pickups and a military version) without costing a fortune and with better finish.

Company planners have categorized the potential SUV market as luxury, leisure and utility, and they're working on how the Defender can score a bigger slice of the utility market and make money without the economies-of-scale benefit and with the grip Toyota and others have on the market.

Land Rover ultimately may have to take a premium utility stance with the new Defender, and hope that the style and depth of competence will allow a higher price.

The company also will have to get reliability licked once and for all — a constant sticking point in the U.S. as well as the home market.

Land Rover reckons it needs to sell 60,000-80,000 units annually to make the program pay. Military sales are attractive because of the parts business. Last year, it sold 18,000 Defenders.

Inside Line says: The company is mulling a fourth plant, possibly in China, for Land Rover manufacture. China is now its second biggest market, behind the U.K. and ahead of the U.S.