Land Rover’s new ‘baby Defender’ off-road SUV has been spied testing again, this time revealing more clues to its final look ahead of an expected introduction in 2027 – and further clues to what it will be called.
Fresh images from British publication Autocar show more details, including a better look at the high waistline, tall doors, and trademark clamshell bonnet of the rugged, upmarket SUV.
The blistered doors seen in the images are likely misdirection, as the camouflaged test car appears to follow the same overall look as the current Defender, below which it will be positioned as a smaller, more affordable entry-level off roader.
It features the same flush door handles and outward-opening tailgate – including what appears to be provision for an externally mounted spare wheel – as the vehicle seen in spy images from last month.
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Autocar suggests the smaller SUV could be named ‘Defender Sport’, which would be consistent with the names of the smaller Range Rover Sport and Discovery Sport models, and that it could actually replace the current Discovery Sport first introduced back in 2014.
Any naming decision would also be consistent with the latest ‘House of brands’ approach by JLR (formerly known as Jaguar Land Rover), in which model names including Defender and Discovery are ‘dialled up’ and treated as unique sub-brands within Land Rover.
According to Autocar, the Defender Sport name was inadvertently added to Land Rover’s public website but visible only via internet search engines.
However, there’s also a chance JLR could use a numerical name for its smaller Defender, which could potentially be designated as the ‘Defender 80’ to position it below the existing Defender 90, 110 and 130 model derivatives.
Whatever it is called, the baby Defender will be underpinned by the same Electrified Modular Architecture (EMA) platform as the next-generation Range Rover Velar due in 2026, and the Range Rover Evoque.
Earlier spy shots showed a clear lack of exhaust outlets, which are visible in the latest images, but increasing demand for hybrid vehicles may see a plug-in version also introduced.
An electric version of the bigger ‘regular’ Defender will be based on JLR’s Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA) platform
The smaller entry-level Land Rover will partially fulfill the role of both the existing Discovery Sport and its predecessors, the original 1997 Freelander and the Freelander 2, which was produced until 2015.
It’s expected to measure less than 4.6 metres long overall – the length of the short-wheelbase two-door Defender 90 – and sit around 1.8 metres tall.
The key difference will be its more luxurious positioning than the Disco Sport, following the upmarket identity shift for the current-generation Defender when it arrived to critical acclaim in 2020.
The Baby Defender will be built in Merseyside in the UK, which is being upgraded for EV production but has also been impacted by a cyber attack on last month.
The cyber attack has halted production at several JLR plants worldwide, with the UK government backing a £1.5 billion (~$A3bn) loan to minimise impact to the company’s workforce and supply chain. MORE: Explore the Land Rover Defender showroom MORE: Explore the Land Rover showroom
