Land Rover has just shown the first official images of the Defender 130, the stretched variant of the bluff off-roader, that has seats for up to eight.
It's the ideal car if you've lost count of the number of kids you have, or if you and seven friends just really, really want to have lunch together on top of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The 130 name comes from a previous, classic, Defender model which had a wheelbase of 130 inches (3,300mm) and was most commonly seen as a crew-cab pickup.
Longer rear end
The current Defender 110 has a wheelbase of 3,002mm, and to that the 130 adds an extra 340mm of body length behind the rear axle, for a total length of 5,358mm - that's longer than either a BMW X7 or a Mercedes-Benz G-Class.
Into that length, Land Rover fits three rows of seats - two up front, and two rear rows of three seats (although the centre seat of the last row looks a little tight...). In theory, Land Rover could turn it into a nine-seater, by using the extra 'jump seat' front seat arrangement as seen in the Defender Hard Top commercial vehicle, but that doesn't appear to be on the cards for the 130 just yet.
There will be a five-seat version too, for which Land Rover claims a massive maximum load space of 2,516 litres with five seats in use. In the eight-seater, with all seats in use, that shrinks to a still-useful 389 litres. The eight-seater gets a 1,232-litre boot if you fold down the third row, although Land Rover usually quotes its boot volume figures as loaded to the roofline, rather than to the luggage cover.
Unique colour
There will be some trim differences between the Defender 130 and the standard 110 version - the 130 gets a unique 'Sedona Red' paint option and comes with a panoramic glass roof as standard.
Inside, that third row of seats can be optionally heated, and there are USB connectors back there too. The seats get a 'stadium' effect, so that each row is slightly higher up than the row in front, for improved visibility. Five of the rear seats get ISOFIX child seat anchors.
Up front, there's a larger 11.4-inch curved-glass touchscreen which will run Land Rover's impressive Pivi Pro infotainment system. The updated navigation system now uses the clever what3words system - developed by a British technology company, what3words has divided the globe into a grid of 57-trillion 3m x 3m squares, each with a unique, easy-to-remember three-word address.
Two petrols, two diesels
The Defender 130 engine line-up consists of two 3.0-litre six-cylinder petrol engines; a 300hp P300 and a 400hp P400; and two 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesels; a 250hp D250 and a 300hp D300. There's no word yet of plug-in hybrid variants. All models come with a standard eight-speed automatic gearbox and four-wheel drive, with low-range gears for off-roading, and Land Rover's 'Terrain Response' off-roading software. All 130s also get air suspension as standard, which can be height-adjusted from within the boot for ease of loading. As with the standard Defender, the 130 can wade through as much as 900mm of standing water. Its maximum towing weight drops a little compared to the 110, though, falling to 3,00kg from 3,500kg.
"The new Defender 130 brings a new dimension of capability to our most durable and rugged family of vehicles. Its spacious interior welcomes and transports up to eight people in supreme comfort, enabling unparalleled sophisticated adventuring opportunities for families, with unique design signatures to create a distinct Defender experience" said Nick Collins, executive director, vehicle operations, Land Rover.