Land Rover Defender Wolf II wants to be the army’s new 4x4 icon
The old Defender used to be a cornerstone of our armed forces. It’s finally time for the modern one to serve (if it makes the cut)
The Land Rover Defender was once the all-wheel-drive backbone of many public services in the UK, underpinning everything from ambulances to fire engines, and notably serving the military well over many years. In total the British armed forces had more than 8000 Wolf Land Rovers in its ranks. Now, Land Rover has prepared a battle-ready version of the current Defender to step into the breach.
That might be an affront to the belligerent old Land Rover fans who couldn’t accept the latest monocoque car as a worthy successor to their beloved decades-old Swiss army knife. Indeed, the new SUV does have more of a reputation for storming the Watford gap than the Darien equivalent, but that’s somewhat unfair. The Defender already sees use with police and border forces the world over, as well as mountain rescue and fire services. Still, for the creation of its new battle bus, Land Rover has fully leveraged its experience taking on the Dakar rally with the Defender.
The new Wolf is based on the bespoke Defender D7x architecture, with a stiffer body structure than that of the road car built to withstand JLR’s Extreme Event Test procedure. The car has undergone intense benchmarking and over 62,000 tests for engineering signoff.
Exact specs aren’t given, only that the engine is ‘built in Wolverhampton’, suggesting that it’s not the Dakar-winning, Defender Octa-powering BMW-sourced 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8. We see covers for the expensive LED lights, chunky tyres, steel wheels, a practical roof storage rack (complete with spare wheel) and a bespoke steel front bumper that’s not very Euro NCAP-friendly.
There are multiple iterations of the Defender Wolf Series II, from tactical and general mobility, to ambulance and utility specs. The new Wolf hasn’t actually got the job yet, with the car set to compete with others for the MOD light mobility vehicle role.
JLR will also make the Defender Wolf II commercially available via the new Defender Defence Division, for other defence organisations. In other words, everyone from private military companies to Bond’s next baddies, will have a new Defender to consider.
‘The Defender Wolf Series II is intended as a light mobility solution for people and equipment transportation for the defence sector,’ Defender Managing Director Patrick McGillycuddy said.
> The Land Rover Defender Dakar is a 626bhp race car for the road, with ‘Flight mode’
‘We are bidding for the UK Ministry of Defence Light Mobility Vehicle tender, with a modern replacement for the world‑famous Defender Wolf that served the British Armed Forces for over 70 years.’
