Just been on the news...

fighting for a 500 million investment to build a new baby version of the defender in teeside...

Twisted also made an appearance... interesting

Interesting...

I saw an interview with Charles Fawcett (Twisted) a couple of years ago when he bought his £7m stock of Defenders. On being asked what next after they've gone he suggested making his own. But not heard anything else since.

I can't really imagine what a baby version of a Defender would be like? The 90 is small enough as it is?! James
MY2012 110 2.2TDCi XS SW Orkney Grey - http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic43410.html
MY1990 110 200TDi SW beautifully faded Portofino Red - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post743641.html#743641
MY1984 90 V8 Slate Grey - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post744557.html#744557
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Maybe they will just start pimping 80"s  80" 80" 86" 88" 90"

Wanted, Forward Control Anything considered.

Jimny rival. UK population is growing at 1,200 a day (8,400 people a week). Think about it...because no one is.

I just watched tis too  My 109 thread

my youtube channel

Likeomg wrote:

500 million investment

I would have thought that the market for a mini Defender would be much less than 100,000 per annum. Suzuki already have the lion's share of this market with their Jimny which is due to be revamped in the next few months so it will not be an easy market to penetrate. Santorini 90XS SW
Discovery Sport
Morgan Plus 8

Well, you say that, but I've been wondering if this sector is going to be the new growth one. The popularity of small SUVs surprised market analysts, and many manufacturers are still playing catch-up. Look how many Vauxhall Mokkas there are on the roads, for example. Small city cars have been predicted as the next big growth market, but this simply hasn't come about. Indeed, Gordon Murray thought he'd cracked it with his awful little T27. Now, combine the two - a small city car with SUV pretensions. Add electric to that and you just might have the 'hot cakes' in car manufacturing. 'Normal' car prices have just got stupid, and I'm wondering if a downturn in sales will force buyers and manufacturers to look at cheaper ways of getting around. An electric Jimny may just be the way forward, and wouldn't it be great if it was a British company like Ineos that kicked it off? UK population is growing at 1,200 a day (8,400 people a week). Think about it...because no one is.

The Defender is not an SUV though - at least it wasn't and should not be.

Frankly I don't care about the SUV market, I want a light commercial that can take anything from a cherry-picker to equipment for spraying locusts to any location. If it can't do that, it is not a Defender replacement!

The CSW has always been marketed as an SUV, in my opinion 1993 200 Tdi 90 CSW
1956 Series 1 Hard-top
1958 Series 1 Soft-top

Not much "S" about it, IMO!

I would argue that the CSW was the slightly-more-civilised version of the light commercial, and at the time it came into being the SUV market didn't exist as such. The SUV market was borne with the Range Rover, which, after establishing the market, rapidly shot off somewhere else entirely. The irony to me is that an SUV has never been a "utility" vehicle in the sense of being a working vehicle, but only in the sense that you can use it to take rubbish to the tip or your daughter to university. (Show me an "SUV" that can be adapted as a road railer, or have an underlift installed, etc etc).

The CSW was really the truest form of dual purpose vehicle - you could go on holiday in it, or you could tow your livestock to market.

I don't think that the Defender has ever been an SUV, or indeed should ever become and SUV, based on the current understanding of the term.

Just my personal opinion of course, and other may - and probably will - have entirely difference views.

The term is annoying, as journalists use it for a Tesla model! The RR was (in my opinion) the very first SUV, though I have seen articles disputing that, and the Defender clearly wasn't...wasn't. However, like Kit, I feel it's been marketed as one for some time. UK population is growing at 1,200 a day (8,400 people a week). Think about it...because no one is.

The original station wagons were pretty civilised, but were still marketed as a good way to get builders across a site, or to ferry tourists on safari, never really shown as an alternative to a normal car. The County, introduced in 1982, was really just playing catch up with standard car levels of trim and equipment, and even then it was still fairly basic. Some sound proofing and slightly nicer seats along with pant and side tapes, not exactly class-leading. 2011 110 USW
1973 Series III 1-Ton
1972 Series III 1-Ton Cherrypicker
1969 IIA 1-Ton
1966 IIA 88"

blackwolf wrote:

The Defender is not an SUV though - at least it wasn't and should not be.

Frankly I don't care about the SUV market, I want a light commercial that can take anything from a cherry-picker to equipment for spraying locusts to any location. If it can't do that, it is not a Defender replacement!