Land Rover Defender production to stop by December 2015

Land rover has confirmed that it will stop production of the Defender SUV by December 2015. This sad news for all its fans and off-road enthusiasts who swear by it comes in the face of  it not being able to keep up with the present-day safety and emissions requirements.

The legendary vehicle is one of the most respected four wheel drive off-roaders due to its perceived tank like strength. It came into existence 67 years ago and was initially called the Land Rover Ninety and then the Land Rover One ten.
The Defender name plate was introduced in 1990 but its roots can be traced back to the year 1948. The looks of the vehicle may give an impression that it was built only for the farmers but it was one of Queen’s favourite vehicles.

It is featured in Angelina Jolie’s movie Tomb-Raider and James Bond’s recent movie Skyfall. However it seems to have taken the path of the British royal family and is perhaps best known for spawning the Wolf SUV which has been in service of the English armed forces for over 20 years now. 

The defender models were assembled under license in many countries across the world including Spain, Iran, Brazil and Turkey. Unfortunately not many modifications could be done to the vehicle to meet the modern strict emissions regulations and Land Rover has decided to stop its production. A replacement for this defender was anyways due since a long time and Land Rover plans to come up with a new revived one in 2015. This apparently may be based on the Defender Concept 100 unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor show last year.