Land Rover Experimenting Will Pure EV Defender

JaguarJaguarUnited Kingdom, 1922 > present53 models
2174 photos
16 videos
Land RoverLand RoverUnited Kingdom, 1978 > present15 models
1742 photos
9 videos
seem dead set on creating electrified, likely hybrid, vehicles in the near future. Jaguar has openly experimented with a hybrid XJJaguar XJ Gen.4United Kingdom, 2010 > present59 versions
104 photos
1 video
and the C-X75 hybrid supercar if Jaguar could have found a market. Now Land Rover is beginning to experiment with its own electrified vehicles. In this case, it is a pure EV DefenderLand Rover Defender Gen.1United Kingdom, 1983 > present122 versions
206 photos
1 video
that Land Rover has codenamed the Leopard 1 that it is meant to show that an electrified car can still go off-road. 

The experimental Defender EV uses a 94hp and 243lb-ft electric motor with a lithium-ion battery with 27kWh of charge. It gives the truck a range of 50 miles. The battery can be charged in between four and ten hours depending on the charger. The battery weighs 410kg (904lbs) and is mounted where the diesel engine would usually be. Its total weight is 100kg (220.5lbs) more than a standard Defender 110Land Rover Defender 110 SW EUnited Kingdom, 2012 > present2 photos
. 

The truck is four-wheel driver with differential locks, but it uses a single-speed transmission because the electric motor makes it maximum torque immediately. Land Rover is also testing a modified version of its Terrain Response System. 

Land Rover has no real intention of building a pure EV Defender. This vehicle is a test bed for how to make future electrified Land Rovers that are as capable off-road as their internal combustion counterparts. The biggest challenge is how to cope with water crossings in an electric vehicle. 

Land Rover has tested the truck by hauling a 12-ton road train up a 13% grade and going through 800mm water crossings

"This project is acting as a rolling laboratory for Land Rover to assess electric vehicles, even in the most arduous all-terrain conditions. It gives us a chance to evolve and test some of the technologies that may one day be introduced into future Land Rover models," said Antony Harper, head of Jaguar Land Rover research.