First look as Land Rover launches the all-new 2020 Defender

Land Rover has finally unveiled the long-awaited successor to the hugely popular Defender at a launch in Frankfurt on Tuesday.

The all-new Defender boasts new technology along with an advanced off-road capability designed to ensure it tackles even the roughest stuff with ease.

Land Rover said the new car is an “icon reimagined for the 21st century” with an “instantly recognisable” silhouette that has been designed “for a new age”.

The new model, which will will be built at the company’s new factory in Slovakia, has a towing capacity of 3,500kg and a wading depth of up to 90cm, helping it become the “ultimate 4×4 for overland adventures”.

Prices for the longer wheelbase Defender 110 start at £45,240 and available to buy now, while the Defender 90 will cost from around £40,000 when it goes on sale in the spring.

Land Rover chief design officer Gerry McGovern said: “The new Defender is respectful of its past but is not harnessed by it.

“This is a new Defender for a new age. Its unique personality is accentuated by its distinctive silhouette and optimum proportions, which make it both highly desirable and seriously capable – a visually compelling 4×4 that wears its design and engineering integrity with uncompromised commitment.”

The original Defender became a motoring icon over the course of its 71 years, becoming a favourite of the Queen and features in such as the James Bond movie Skyfall and Edge Of Tomorrow starring Tom Cruise.

While the Defender name can be traced back to the early 1990s, the car represents the continuation of the very first Land Rover, which came on to the scene in April 1948 and was modelled on wartime Jeeps.

The Queen took delivery of her first one shortly after coming to the throne in 1952 and has used Land Rovers ever since.

But despite its heritage and longevity, by the time production ended in 2016 it had fallen behind its rivals and lost out in the popularity stakes to similar, more modern 4x4s. 

Land Rover hopes the new model with its boxy, upright frame, will fulfill the original’s off-road ability while providing all the comfort and mod-cons that modern cars offer.

A new generation on-board infotainment system is packed with hi-tech features and software that can be continually downloaded and improved, while the car has the capability to handle satellite phones too.

The car comes in five different trim levels – S, SE, HSE, First Edition and Defender X.