Land Rover confirms Defender 90 introduction

Land Rover has set the Australian arrival date of the three-door Land Rover Defender 90 range for the last quarter of this year.

A limited run of 100 Defender 90 First Edition P400 models will be the first of the shorty Defenders to be introduced in October, with the introduction of the rest of the range to follow in December.

4

All Defender 90 First Edition models for Australia will be finished in green with the white roof combination.

Unlike Australian market diesel-equipped First Edition Defender 110s, the Defender 90 First Edition models will come with the P400 powertrain specification, which is the most powerful engine option in the Defender range currently.

P400-spec Defenders feature a turbocharged 3-litre inline-six petrol engine paired with a mild-hybrid system, which boasts a power output of 294kW and 550Nm.

4

As is the case with the rest of the Defender range, it is expected that Australia-bound Defender 90s will be equipped with an eight-speed automatic transmission.

According to Land Rover Australia, the company website had recorded “extraordinary levels of website traffic” with more than half congregating on the new Defender, and customer expressions of interests were the highest recorded for any new Land Rover launched locally.

“We are delighted with the interest shown in the 110, and have a high level of confidence that the new Defender 90 will prove just as popular,” said Mark Cameron, managing director of Jaguar Land Rover Australia.

4

For now, Land Rover Australia has yet to announce the pricing and the specifications of the rest of the Defender 90 range, and will do so closer to the launch date.

With the base Defender 90 priced 10 per cent lower than the base Defender 110 in the UK, we can expect Defender 90 prices to start somewhere in the $65,000 region.