Baby Land Rover Defender spied with electric drivetrain

Land Rover is looking to expand its popular Defender sub-brand with a smaller model powered by an electric drivetrain.

Spied during hot weather testing in southern Europe, the baby Defender’s chunky silhouette can be clearly seen and the prototype’s slabby sides are complemented by square-ish wheel-arches.

The car bucks the split headlight trend, but has flush-fitting rear door handles. A vertically-aligned door handle on the left side of the tailgate indicates it swings out, rather than lifts up. Although there’s no spare wheel mounted to the tailgate, that’s likely where it will live on production models.

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The front of the prototype is almost completely sealed up, except for a small air intake at the bottom of the fascia, indicating this baby Defender does indeed have an electric drivetrain.

An earlier report from Autocar claimed the baby Defender will be based on Land Rover’s new Electrified Modular Architecture (EMA). Originally designed to be an electric-drivetrain architecture, the company is reportedly considering adding support for plug-in hybrid drivetrains as EV demand hasn’t grown as quickly as automakers had expected.

EMA will employ an 800V electrical system, and use electric motors and batteries built in the UK at a new factory in Somerset owned by Tata, Land Rover’s parent company.

Other vehicles which will be based on EMA include the next-generation Range Rover Velar and Range Rover Evoque.

According to the British magazine, the electric baby Defender will be known as the Defender Sport, which fits in with the Sport name employed by the Discovery and Range Rover lines.

If Land Rover decides to do something different, it could give the new smaller model a numerical designation to follow on from the 90 (short-wheelbase three-door), 110 (regular five-door), and 130 (extended rear overhang five-door) versions of the current Defender.

Expected to launch in 2026, the baby Defender will slot in as a cheaper alternative to the current Defender, which currently kicks at $98,400 before on-road costs. While it will be reportedly less capable off-road, the new model will look to capitalise on the popularity of the larger Defender, which has proven popular with over 114,000 sold throughout the world in 2024.

The baby Defender is also believed to be an indirect replacement for the Discovery Sport, which seems unlikely to be renewed for another generation. Launched back in 2014, the Discovery Sport replaced the Freelander.

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