60th Anniversary Land Rover Defender SVX - photo by Land Rover UK
We previously reported that the design work on the replacement for the Land Rover Defender, code-named “Project Icon”, was underway within Jaguar Land Rover. However, it appears as if development of the project has hit a snag, according to UK automotive site Autocar. Among the reported delays are the logistics for engineering and production. Among the changes in design are a reported departure from the previously rumored T5 (LR3/LR4) chassis for production, with no replacement chassis rumored to take its place.
These delays are easy to understand considering each Defender is produced by hand on the assembly line at Solihull. The tedious hand-built Defender production line is a stark contrast to the state-of-the-art, highly automated production line for Range Rover, which was put in place during the BMW/Ford years. Surely in order to maximize profitability for the next generation vehicle, a new more efficient production line will have to be put into place. It is also reported that the huge variation of commercial applications will be paired down in the next generation Defender. Click here for a glimpse into the staggering number of variations available from the factory beyond the well-known station wagons, pickups and Hi-Cap Defenders.
Parent company Tata Motors has fully signed off on funds for the new vehicle, but delays in engineering are expected to push the long-awaited Defender replacement back to 2014.
Here’s an awesome promotional video we found from our friends over at the World of Land Rover blog.
Land Rover Experience offers a handful of expeditions to remote destinations in the world. This promotional video showcases their expedition to Morocco. You can learn more about their Expeditions program at http://lrexpeditions.wordpress.com/
Heading through the scenic canyons at the Land Rover National Rally
With autumn rapidly approaching and the Land Rover National Rally just around the corner, what better time to add a Photo Journal from Pangaea Expeditions contributor Bill Green? Bill, a professional photographer, headed out to Moab, Utah for the 2008 Land Rover National Rally with his camera gear to capture the Rally and its celebration of Land Rover’s 60th anniversary.
The Land Rover National Rally brings together a diverse collection of Land Rover’s and their owners from around the world. This was perhaps best evidenced by Bill’s photos from the famous Fins N’ Things trail. On this outing, Range Rover Sports ran the trail alongside Series vehicles, Defenders, Discoverys and Freelanders. Click here to view the full set of photos.
In late December, I got a request to do a photo shoot of Keith and Karen Kreutzer of RoverTracks for Land Rover Owner International Magazine. For the past few years, Keith has quietly been making some of the most innovative and heavy-duty modifications for Land Rovers on this side of the pond. His HD axles, steering components and Toyota 3rd member swaps are all pushing the envelope for Land Rover performance.
We took two of his test trucks out for some beauty shots, follwed by a bit of winter wheeling on some private property in Boulder County. Finally, we shot some pictures of Keith at work in the RoverTracks workshop. His 1997 Discovery XD is a former Pangaea truck, which he did a Td5 swap in (believed to be the first of its kind), while the black truck is a test bed for all sorts of crazy modifications. Click here for the full set of pictures.
Winching a Land Rover Discovery up White Knuckle Hill
For the past two years, Nathan Hindman, alongside Thór Jónsson of Viking Off Road, have been teaching the Winching and Off Road Recovery at Overland Expo. In this class, we attempt to teach our students enough in 2 hours to safely and effectively operate a winch in a typical vehicle recovery situation. Some of that information simply can’t be conveyed in such a short period of time, such as detailed resistance values of a ’stuck’.
Every vehicle recovery situation is unique, vehicle weight, resistance values, the quality and condition of equipment being used all can fluctuate from situation to situation. In the first of a series of articles on vehicle recovery, we’ve written an introduction on how to calculate the resistance loads encountered in many vehicle recovery situations. Click here to learn more.
The Fault Line Living team training at Eastnor Castle, photo by Fault Line Living
Fault Line Living, an expedition documenting and cataloging life along active fault lines in the world, has kicked off their 15,000 mile expedition. As recipients of the RGS and Land Rover “Go Beyond” bursary, they’re traveling in a donated Land Rover Defender 110 across some of the worlds most active fault lines from Iceland to Iran.
Throughout the expedition, they will explore the human side of living along fault lines and the affect geography has on people. En route, the expedition will also be carrying a pair of portable seismometers to collect seismic data.
Click here to learn more about this expedition and follow along.
The refreshed 2011 Land Rover LR2/Freelander 2, photo by Land Rover UK
Land Rover has officially unveiled the new LR2/Freelander to the world. As expected, the changes are a handful of minor cosmetic changes such as removing the “snout” protrusion on the front grill, changing the size and shape of the fog lamp openings and extending the rear door handle to the full width of the door. Nothing too terribly exciting, here.
Updated powertrains will be available on the new LR2/Freelander 2 including the TD4 and SD4 engines, both which boast increased performance (in the SD4 powertrain, only) and fuel economy. However, disappointingly, they have also announced the availability of a 2WD version of the LR2/Freelander 2. While there have been rumors of a 2WD version available on the horizon, it is a bit sad to think that this is the first Land Rover available in a two-wheel drive-only version.
The new model is expected to go on sale in the UK in September, with sales in North America assumedly later on this fall. Click here to view Land Rover UK’s full Flikr gallery.
Kelly Kettle in use at a campsite in the Rocky Mountains
Pangaea Expeditions has added another gear review to the site. This time, we take a look at the Kelly Kettle, also known as the Volcano Kettle. This kettle is a classic piece of expedition equipment used for quickly boiling water in the field. Its design is based on a kettle used by Irish fisherman for centuries.
The Kelly Kettle seems to always turns heads at the campsite due to its cool classic style, but how well does it actually work? We take a closer look at this kettle and its history. Does it stands up to all of the hype?
Following in the footsteps of Pangaea Expeditions Bio Bonatti project, we’ve acquired a new “green” vehicle, but with a twist - it’s a (gasp!) Jeep. More specifically, the new truck is a 2005 Jeep Liberty Diesel (CRD).
This truck is reprensentative of a brief time (2005-2006) when DaimlerChrysler tested out the marketability of selling diesel motors in North America.
Although sales of the CRD were discontinued after 2006, ironically due to not meeting stricter emissions standards, the Liberty CRD was capable right off the showroom floor of running biofuels up to 100% Biodiesel (B100) all while getting nearly 30 mpg on the highway. Pangaea Expedition’s goal with this vehicle is to create an easy to achieve biofuel-powered daily driver, which can be used for occasional forays into the backcountry.
New pictures have surfaced from the 2011 Land Rover LR2/Freelander brochure. The official reveal for the vehicle isn’t expected untilAugust, but UK-based Car Magazine has received photos of the new vehicle.
The facelift is minor at best. A subtle change to the size and mesh material of the front intake grille will put the LR2’s aesthetics more in line with the current Land Rover family. Furthermore, the rear door handle has been extended the full width of the door. Nothing earth shattering here.
Pictures from the new Land Rover LR2 Brochure
There are however, expected to be a handful of engineering changes to the new model. The European Td4 diesel motor is expected to get an upgrade. With increased customer focus on environmental awareness, its rumored that fuel economy may increase along with the potential for a Evoque-derived 2WD drivetrain in the future.
