Electric Land Rover Defender

Old-school engineering meets a future-proof powertrain in one-off concept.

Auto Express Car Reviews

By Jack Rix

09th May 2011

Meet Land Rover's latest game-changer! This is the Defender Safari EV concept - a one-off prototype developed by Land Rover South Africa and set to debut at Indaba 2011, one of Africa's largest tourism events, which will be held in Durban from 7 to 10 May.

Jointly engineered by Land Rover Specialists Barker Performance Products and Land Rover's own engineers, the concept ditches the usual diesel engine and replaces it with lithium-ion batteries powering a 80bhp electric motor with 330Nm of torque.

On a single charge a range of 63 miles is possible, up to speeds of 37mph. That's enough for eight hours of safari driving - or three times an average trip. And of course it retains a four-wheel drive transmission, so it's every bit as rugged as a conventional Land Rover.

For an alternative review of the latest Land Rover Defender visit our sister site carbuyer.co.uk

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1 Comment

ummm

this could be good no more storing gallons of fuel and with solar power plants the recharge would be free if it was easy and quick to exchange the batteries. I assume it has a motor in each wheel to give 4 x 4 capabilities so should also be lighter. My only concern is the weatherproofing of the electrics if it had to traverse a river.
Damm good idea though.

By del55 on 11 May, 2011, 8:33am

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