One of the most passionate groups of car owners in Malaysia are the owners of Land Rovers. As many of you know, I’m also an enthusiast. One of the big things in the world of Land Rover was the two-year-long wait for the release of the new Defender.
The Defender is acknowledged as among the most recognisable shapes in the motoring world.
Originally known only as the Land Rover, it would be familiar as the regular vehicle used by our police and army for basic transport duties. It is also the most commonly seen farm vehicle in Perak.
One urban legend is that the Cameron Highlands agricultural community contains the world’s highest concentration of Land Rovers.
This small truck was designed for English farmers and its manufacture started after World War 2. The utilitarian shape and truck-like chassis endured in its essential form until 2016 when production ended.
In those 70 years of production, the Land Rover Defender as it became known in its final 10 years, had been bought and used in almost all countries in the world. In Malaysia, as well as the world, there was an orgy of farewell events for the old Defender.
Jaguar Land Rover, the current owners of the Land Rover brand, fanned the frenzy of enthusiasm by leaking spy shots of the supposed replacement, the DC100, a soft-looking car without any significantly recognisable lines like the Defender.
Inevitably it provoked a storm of condemnation from Defender aficionados worldwide.
In Malaysia, the enthusiasts already had the images of the new Defender since its debut at the Frankfurt Motor show in 2019, and as recently as a few months ago, Open AP import permit holders had brought in a few second-hand units for sale at about RM500,000
For most car enthusiasts though, there was nothing like looking at the real thing. There was an air of excited anticipation at the media launch on Oct 14 at JLR Malaysia’s new showroom at Sime Darby Auto City in Ara Damansara, Kuala Lumpur.
The new Defender is one of the most exciting products in the international 4×4 and off-road community. It is a complete re-engineering and modernisation of what has been basically a 70-year old design.
The man behind the changes
You would need to be a very brave person to change something that’s so venerated by its enthusiasts that it’s almost holy.
Or you could be Gerry McGovern, the chief creative officer of the JLR group, who has changed the company’s fortunes with his successful interpretation and design of its three best sellers – the Freelander in 1997, the Evoque in 2011 and now the new Defender.
It is so popular that there’s a worldwide shortage of this revolutionary reincarnation of a farm truck into a sophisticated SUV which can tackle the most formidable urban traffic war zones as well as real off-road challenges – if you don’t mind scratching the paintwork on your million-ringgit machine.
McGovern is the character who’s defining the design direction of this heritage British brand and who is already working on the design of the new Range Rover.
By the way, if you happen to meet him at any Land Rover event as we did in Laos a few years ago, don’t mention the word “style” to him. Talk instead about design.
In his acceptance speech at the World Car Design Award, he said: “The big point is special products need design elements to differentiate them from the rest. Look at fashion: people say it changes all the time, and some of it does. But take a look at design classics – they don’t.”
Hefty prices, but fully booked
All the Defender units in the first batch that were imported have been booked despite the hefty prices starting from RM780,000 for the 2.0 litre and RM988,000 for the 3.0 litre.
This pushes the Defender L663 into the price bracket of Range Rover customers.
For those who like the traditional body-on-frame and beam axles, this is the opportunity to seek out the previous Defenders and refurbish them.
Prices of Defenders and Series Land Rovers have been going up for the past two years and with the launch of the Defender L663, even the expensive-to-maintain Land Rover Discovery 2 is experiencing a boom in popularity.
The lookalike
And for those who want a new but traditional body-on-frame Land Rover Defender look-alike, there’s the Grenadier, the initiative of UK businessman Jim Ratcliffe whose main business is his petrochemical company, Ineos. He began the Grenadier project after his offer to buy the Defender design was rejected.
At the competition level, Bowler Racing, a JLR subsidiary, makes Defenders which are customised for off-road racing.
With McGovern known to be already working on the new Range Rover, you can understand why the classic Range Rover is increasingly being sought after. Now is your opportunity to get your own Landy if you happen to like this British design symbol.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.