Land Rover Drops New Defenders for the Fans

Land Rover announced the 2024 Defender lineup, with a number of special editions and model tweaks to answer the call of fans and enthusiasts.

With the supply chain and semiconductor crisis starting to fade away, and the Covid production issues behind us, there's finally a glimmer of hope that Land Rover can keep up with demand and production targets for the hot Defender line. With that, they can start to offer a broader set of options and models, without the need to meter out parts and trim pieces to make the most profit with the build capacity they had on hand.

The biggest news comes on the Defender 130 front, where the newest and biggest size of Defender gets two new models. The 5.0-liter AJ-V8 finally comes to Defender 130, while the new Outbound trim is a high-storage five-seater that is custom-built for serious overland and outdoors use.

The Outbound may be the most interesting thing in the new release. It’s a five-seater Defender 130, designed for a flat floor and maximum cargo space. The cargo windows are blanked out, and the interior is designed for more space in the back. Rubber floor matting has a flip-down section to protect the bumper on loading and unloading, and there are extra cargo nets and lashing points all over, including a bin in the side of the cargo area reminiscent of a five-seat Discovery 1 or 2.

Inside the Outbound can hold 88.85 cubic feet of cargo behind the front seats. The regular eight-seat Defender 130 only holds 76.1 cubic feet. By comparison, the LR4 had 90.3 cubic feet of space behind the front seats, and has traditionally been considered the most hauling-friendly modern Land Rover. The rear load floor in the Outbound is 49.88 inches long and almost entirely flat, with just over four feet of length from the front seat back to the rear door. The layout and solid rear windows make it a valuable option for someone who is looking for a serious overland configuration, and is the closest thing that the North American market has come to a Defender Commercial/Hard Top. (As someone who lived out of the back of my LR3 for two months last year, I have already specced one out and put it on my vision board.)

The V8 also comes to Defender 130, an expected eventual expansion of the venerable and beloved five-liter blower motor. The Defender 130 V8 mimics the stealthy vibe of the Defender 90 and Defender 110, with the only exterior choices available being Carpathian Grey and Santorini Black. The options and trims for the 130 V8 are basically the same as the smaller models, but the best part is that you can now finally truly have it all in the Defender lineup.

The V8 also expands its availability in the regular Defender 110, with the Defender 110 SE now available with a slightly-detuned variant of the motor. Now you can get a V8 Defender 110 in a color other than grey and black, with the wider variety of options and colors from the standard SE lineup.

The final big announcement is a big one for the fans – a County trim level. In the 1980s and 1990s, County was a common trim designation for Land Rovers and Range Rovers. (Many Range Rover Classics in America used the trim level, and in the 1990s and 2000s, the Classic was referred to by some people as a “Range Rover County.”) Defenders with the County package in the 1980s and 1990s were the top-spec vehicles, with more features designed to go up against more outfitted Japanese 4x4s. These features included fabulously 80s stripes down the sides of the vehicle, which had the word “COUNTY” in them.

The new County brings a modern interpretation of these stripes back, running down the lower door sides. They also come with a contrasting color roof and rear door, in a combination of Fuji White, Santorini Black, and Tasman Blue. The door sills are even custom, illuminated County-spec items, featuring the stripe graphic. For a $600 upcharge, it's something a bit more fun and eccentric for the retroist.

Finally, one of the greatest disappointments of the original Defender launch is fixed -- steel wheels are now available in 20" sizes. When Defender came out, the steel wheels were considered a huge asset for serious off-roaders, who prefer steel for their durability and repairability. However, they were only available in the 18" size, and the 18" wheels were only available with the four-cylinder motor, as the larger motors have bigger brakes. Now the larger-size steelies mean anyone can bring that utility and aesthetic to their Defender.

The 2024 Defender brings a little bit of something for everyone, and as we look to a world that has reopened and has a more stable supply chain, hopefully, we can look forward to more choices like these from Land Rover.