Jaguar Land Rover unveiled three variants of a brand new navy car referred to as the Defender Wolf Collection II on the British Military’s DVD 2026 exhibition in Bedfordshire on Sept. 16, aiming to switch the Land Rover that has served British forces for greater than 70 years.
The occasion, held on the Millbrook proving floor, is the place the Ministry of Defence is anticipated to judge bids for its Gentle Mobility Automobile program, a contract to switch the getting old fleet of Wolf-spec Land Rovers and Pinzgauer vans nonetheless in service. JLR’s Defender division is competing for that work, and Thomas Mueller, the corporate’s chief know-how officer, mentioned on LinkedIn that the autos proven have been “the primary of many variants of Defender Wolf Collection II to come back.”
“That is Defender’s first navy car launch because the authentic Wolf, which served the British Armed Forces for greater than 70 years,” Mueller mentioned.
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Different reporting across the launch describes 4 deliberate variants in whole, a tactical mobility car, a normal mobility car, an ambulance and a utility car, although Mueller’s submit confirmed solely three have been proven on the day. JLR has not mentioned which of the 4 have been unveiled or when the remaining variant may observe.
The brand new car marks a structural break from its predecessor. The place the unique Wolf used a standard ladder-frame chassis, the Collection II is constructed on Defender’s D7x monocoque platform, the identical underlying structure utilized in JLR’s civilian Defender fashions. “Constructed on Defender’s light-weight D7x monocoque structure, it delivers distinctive sturdiness, elevated payload functionality and excellent power,” Mueller mentioned. JLR says the car underwent greater than 62,000 checks as a part of its Excessive Occasion Take a look at process, the corporate’s customary analysis for autos constructed to function in harsh situations.
The Wolf nameplate dates to 1998, when Land Rover started producing a militarized model of the Defender for British forces. At its peak, greater than 8,000 Wolf-spec Land Rovers have been in British Military service, and the car has additionally been utilized by allied militaries. The substitute effort gained urgency after the unique Wolf’s limitations, together with inadequate safety in opposition to improvised explosive gadgets, grew to become obvious throughout operations in Afghanistan.
JLR has additionally created a brand new Defender Protection Division to help navy and authorities prospects past this single program, and the corporate says the Defender title already serves police, border, fireplace and mountain rescue companies in numerous nations. The Collection II’s engine is in-built Wolverhampton, although JLR has not disclosed its specs.
