Land Rover design chief defends the Defender SUV

We have seen the debut of the Land Rover Defender last year. However, it is far more different and off-track in its designing than what a lot of people might have expected it to be. It is boxy and rounded at the same time, much like the old Defender. However, what a lot of purists did not like is the unibody build.

There has been quite a lot of criticism surrounding the design of the Land Rover Defender and the head of design at the company, Gerry McGovern said a lot of things about the making of the off-road SUV in an interview with Gear Patrol.

Thanks to this interview, we got a chance to delve deep into the designing concept of the SUV. The idea of building a new Defender came about when the LR1 Concept was unveiled in 2016. And since there has been a lot of criticism about it being too retro or missing out on the essence, Mr. McGovern gave a very deep insight.

According to him, focusing too much on the retro appeal gives an impression of the automaker being incompetent in considering the modern approach. This mostly happens when someone is looking too much in the past. Of course, it is essential to stick to the roots, but adding a modern touch is very important too.

The new Land Rover Defender has been built in such a way. It takes its boxy design cues from its older version but adds modern touches by rounding off the edges. He loved to put forward the idea that the Defender is not an evolution or a revival of an old model. Instead, it a new identity model that takes inspiration from a successful old model.

And while the designing criticism was taken care of, there was another elephant in the room to be addressed - the unibody build off-roading capabilities. Despite using a unibody build, the Defender uses an independent suspension system for the first time ever.

And as far as the off-roading capabilities are concerned, the answer lies in the video that Land Rover released in December that showed the SUV taking on tough off-road challenges.

Also read: BMW iX3 all-electric SUV design revealed