Posted by John Liebson on December 20, 2001 at 08:49:05:

In Reply to: new defender posted by 97lr on December 19, 2001 at 18:44:01:

My best guess is that this is just one more totally uninformed article (and there's lot's more such misinformation posted on the Internet, including on Land Rover forums, etc.)

Speaking of the latter, I just read one such message on another LR forum a few moments ago, "informing" us about such "true" information, such as that the next Discovery will use a Ford SUV chassis; given that it would appear that the next Discovery will, like the soon-to-be-released third generation Range Rover, be of monocoque construction, it is more than a bit difficult to accept the "information" that the poster asserted was correct--kind of like the article you read. (Disclaimer: I do NOT _know_ that the Discovery will be monocoque; I am basing my assumption on the design of the new Range Rover and other information that has been posted by both Ford and its LR subsidiary that would tend to indicate this to be the most likely design.)

I don't believe anyone, and that includes Land Rover itself, actually knows what the next generation Defender will be!

There is a press release from LR that is now a week or so old, talking about a major investment of funds to develop new Land Rover vehicles; I suggess you find that (its somewhere in the LR corporate web site, as I recollect.)

Nowhere in that press release is there any information about what form a new Defender might take, nor have I ever seen any official statements from LR corporate about such a vehicle.