Land Rover revives Hard Top name for commercial version of Defender

Land Rover Defender

Land Rover has decided to revive the Hard Top name, a moniker that was first used with the Land Rover Series one back in the 50’s. Now it comes to the Land Rover Defender.

The Land Rover Defender Hard Top will be the company’s commercial vehicle developed by the Special Vehicle Operations. It will be available in both three-door 90 and five-door 110 variants and promises to offer ‘a unique combination of cargo space, practicality and comfort’.

Both variants will use independent coil sprung suspension and will have a towing capacity of up to 3,500 kg. To assist with that, the Defender will get a range of features like Advanced Tow Assist allowing drivers to steer trailers using a rotary dial on the centre console. In addition to that, the 5-door variant will also get an optional electronic air suspension package.

The company has also said that it does not want to compromise on the luxury aspect of the Defender even when increasing cargo space. While the rear seats have been removed, the Defender gets an option of a ‘jump seat’ for a third passenger in the front row.

In terms of features, the Hard Tops get all the features that the standard Defender gets including the company’s latest infotainment system and driver’s assistance systems including the PIVI Pro with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

The Land Rover Defender Hard Tops will go on sale in some market later in 2020. For India, there hasn’t been any confirmation about the Hard Tops, but the both the Defender 90 and the Defender 110 will be going on sale starting at Rs 69.99 lakh. Bookings for the standard Defenders have been put on hold for the time being, but will likely resume in September.