One of Africa’s most recognizable and reliable cars, the Land Rover Defender will no longer be produced after December 2015. Originally called the Land Rover Ninety and Land Rover One Ten, the British made 4×4 off road utility vehicle has been in production for a continuous 65 years.
In 1989, a third model was brought out by Land Rover to be produced in parallel with the other two: the Land Rover Discovery. To avoid possible confusion, from 1991 the Ninety and the One Ten were renamed the “Defender 90” and “Defender 110”. These carried front badges that said “Defender”, with a badge on the rear of the vehicle saying “Defender 90” or “Defender 110”.
According to Land Rover Design Director and Chief Creative Officer, “Defender is the epitome of toughness, of ruggedness, of strength and most importantly of capability.” The company describes, the Defender as combining superb capability, ruggedness and dependability in one vehicle. Why would they want to discontinue such a reliable car?