Yahoo Autos The Guy Who Tried to Bring Back the Defender Now Wants to Build His Own 4x4
For more than 60 years, Land Rover built the Defender. In that time, it gained a reputation as an incredible off-roader. But all good things must come to an end, and last January, Land Rover built the final Defender. Many fans were saddened-including British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, who immediately launched an effort to revive Defender production separate from Jaguar-Land Rover. It seems that plan has fallen through-and now Ratcliffe wants to build an old-school 4x4 that's definitely not a Defender, even though it sounds nearly identical to one.
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According to Autocar, Ratcliffe, owner of European chemical giant Ineos, is prepared to invest "many hundreds of millions" into building "the world's purest 4x4." It'll occupy the same segment the Defender did, but it won't actually look like a Defender-probably because, after an apparent rebuff from JLR, it likely can't look too much like the old Defender. The British businessman also claims his new off-roader will offer an "improvement in build quality and reliability," which sounds like an achievement until you remember it's being compared to a notoriously slack old Land Rover.
"I am a great admirer of the old Land Rover Defender and have enormous respect for its off road capability, and our new 4x4 has been inspired by it. But whilst our off-roader might share its spirit, our new car will be a major improvement on previous models," Ratcliffe said in a statement.
Ineos director Tom Crotty also told Autocar the new SUV will use a diesel engine to make sure it's both tough and reliable enough for customers in sub-Saharan Africa. But the company has more than Europe and Africa in its sights: Ineos reportedly intends to sell the as-yet unnamed truck Asia and even the U.S.
That seems unlikely, but you never know. It could happen. Maybe.
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