The Land Rover Defender has been abused and adored the world around for nearly 30 years, so it’s a huge task laid in front of Land Rover to replace it. The DC100 Concept is, according to Land Rover, simply a design study, and not a production preview, however it clearly shows where Land Rover plan to take the Defender’s replacement.
The concept is well resolved, and has the chiseled forms and massive volumes we’ve come to expect from Land Rover, but eschews the traditional Defender positioning as straightforward utility vehicle in favor of a more sporting lifestyle vehicle. The very tall proportions and forward-leaning stance are strikingly similar to the Ford Bronco Concept from 2004, not a bad 4×4 reference, but a bit odd for a Land Rover so many years on. The DRG has an angry bulldog appearance with swaths of matte plastic cladding which feel a bit more Freelander than Defender, but highlights are the lovely door cutlines which integrate the door handle and the engine vent, as well as the exposed internal structure of the c-pillar, visible behind a smoked-glass panel.
Accentuating the questionable positioning of the DC100 is the DC100 Sport which is on the stand next to its more serious sibling. The bright orange Sport is a roofless speedster-style lifestyle vehicle, with no utility to be found at all and very little restraint either.
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