The original Land Rover Defender has been pitted against the latest iteration in a tug-of-war; the winner might surprise you!
The difference between the first generation Land Rover Defender and its latest iteration demonstrates how much the automotive industry has evolved. The British off-roading icon gained worldwide reputation for ruggedness, versatility and go-anywhere characteristics. The original version used a steel ladder chassis and an aluminium alloy bodywork along with detuned versions of Rover car engines.
The latest generation Land Rover Defender though is said to be the toughest model ever produced by the brand and it has a highly advanced processor and courtesy of innovative technologies, it is boasted to be unlike any other off-roader the industry has seen. The folks at Carwow decided to put both the off-roaders against each other to settle the arguments.
The old school Land Rover Defender and the new one have competed for bragging rights in a tug-of-war. The 2.2-litre turbocharged diesel engine producing 122 horsepower and 360 Nm of peak torque has been used by this old Defender and the powertrain was paired with a manual transmission with locking centre differential and low range mode as in the good old days.
It tipped the weighing scale at 2,062 kilograms while the new Land Rover Defender 110 weighs a bit heavier at 2,415 kilograms and it comprises of a host of advanced tech including terrain response system as it tweaks the setting based on the traction available and subsequently dictates the amount of power and torque sent to the four wheels without any effort from the driver.
It is safe to say that the drive in the cockpit of the old Land Rover Defender would have his hands full. The new model also has advantage in terms of performance as the 2.0-litre turbo four-pot diesel develops a maximum power output of 240 horsepower and 430 Nm. So, what really happened in the tug-of-war? Are you in for a surprise? Watch the video above!
In India, the new Land Rover Defender is offered in 90 and 110 variants across Base, S, SE, HSE and First Edition trims. It is priced at Rs. 73.98 lakh and it goes all the way up to Rs. 90.46 lakh (ex-showroom) for the range-topping model.