Land Rover is looking to expand its popular Defender sub-brand with a smaller model with an electric drivetrain.
Spied during hot weather testing in southern Europe, we can see the baby Defender’s chunky silhouette. The prototype’s slabby sides are complemented by square-ish wheel arches.
The car bucks the split headlight trend, but has flush-fitting rear door handles. A vertically-aligned door handle on the left-side of the tailgate indicates it swings out, rather than lifts up. Although there’s no spare wheel mounted to the tailgate, that’s likely where it will live in production models.
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The front of the prototype is almost completely sealed up, except for a small air intake at the bottom of the fascia, indicating this baby Defender does indeed have an electric drivetrain.
An earlier report from Autocar claimed the baby Defender will be based on Land Rover’s new Electrified Modular Architecture (EMA). Originally designed to be an electric-drivetrain architecture, the company is reportedly considering adding support for plug-in hybrid drivetrains as EV demand hasn’t grown as automakers had expected.
EMA will use an 800V electrical system, and use electric motors and batteries built in the UK at a new factory in Somerset owned by Tata, Land Rover’s parent company.
Other vehicles which will be based on EMA include the next-generation Range Rover Velar and Range Rover Evoque.
According to the British magazine, the electric baby Defender will be known as the Defender Sport, which fits in the Sport name employed by the Discovery and Range Rover lines.
If Land Rover decides to do something different, it could give the new smaller model a numerical designation to follow on from the 90 (short wheelbase three-door), 110 (regular five-door), and 130 (extended rear overhang five-door) of the current Defender.
Expected to launch in 2026, the baby Defender will slot in as a cheaper alternative to the current Defender, which currently kicks at $98,400 before on-road costs. It will look to capitalise on the popularity of the larger Defender, but is reportedly less capable off-road.
The baby Defender is also believed to be an indirect replacement for the Discovery Sport and seems unlikely to be renewed for another generation. Launched back in 2014, the Discovery Sport replaced the Freelander.
