Wild Defender Carved up

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Carver is designed as a new entry-level Land Rover

23rd January 2007

Revealed at the Detroit Motor Show, the car is the work of students at the city's College of Creative Studies. Called the Carver, it's designed to fit into Land Rover's line-up below the new Freelander, where there is currently a gap for an entry-level three-door model. Featuring a bluff Land Rover-style nose, squared-off lines with minimal overhangs, bold surfaces and tapered lower sills, it certainly looks the part.

If the Carver did make production, it would feature true innovation, too. The body panels are made of special high-impact metal and sit on a steel frame, parts of which are exposed as design features, such as the roof rails and protective side bars.

Although the Carver was produced without any assistance from Land Rover, the firm did give permission for its name to be used, prompting speculation that it is actually an approved design study.