2008 Land Rover Defender

Now THIS is interesting news. From MotorTrend:

“2008 Land Rover Defender: Out of the U.S. market since 1997, the Defender will return for 2008 with a redesigned vehicle codenamed L317. By the time it’s replaced, the Defender would have been manufactured for 25 years. This next-gen vehicle will be based on the LR3’s platform.”

I must admit that this is one offroad vehicle that could make me switch from Jeep. Here’s to hoping they don’t screw it up by trying to update it too much. It has the bare-bones feel of a Jeep with great offroad capabilities.

This is a concept vehicle from 2000 I believe:

A different concept sketch:

I personally prefer the big grille over the newer concept sketch above. The boxiness is what makes it cool, not that it could be turned into an LR3.