Reports say this model will be built on the electrified EMA platform.
A possible name could be Defender Sport, given the brand’s usual practices.
This model is likely to be an EV, but it could also be a hybrid.
The Defender brand, newly separated from Land Rover, could add a new smaller model based on the current SUV of the same name to its lineup in 2027.
Reports show that the company is working on a smaller variant of its most rugged model, in a strategy that could be similar to what Ford has done with the Bronco and Bronco Sport.
This is credible since Land Rover has done it many times before with a number of its models, such as the Range Rover and the smaller Range Rover Sport as well as the Discovery and the smaller Discovery Sport.
A future Defender Sport is expected to be built on the new electrified EMA platform which will allow Jaguar and Land Rover, or JLR as the entity is now known, to introduce fully electric SUVs in the second half of the decade.
This platform will support an 800-volt architecture that will allow charging at speeds up to 350 kW, the fastest rate that is currently supported by public charging infrastructures in North America.
Having said that, it is possible that the upcoming model will be a hybrid or plug-in hybrid SUV since Land Rover wants to keep this technology around for a few more years, especially in markets where fully electric vehicles are not very popular still.
According to Autocar, the Defender Sport will be about 420 millimetres (16.5-inch) shorter than the current Defender 110, which means it would be only slightly longer than the two-door Defender 90 despite being equipped with four full doors.
Apparently, this upcoming model will be related to the next-generation Range Rover Velar and Evoque as well as the Discovery Sport, which will all use the same platform starting later in the decade.
Source: Autocar
