Facts about Land Rover Defender History
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Maurice Wilks, chief designer at the Rover Company, is credited with conceiving the original Land Rover using a surplus Jeep as inspiration in 1947.
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Original Land Rover Defender models were designed with a utilitarian military and agricultural purpose, featuring a simple ladder-frame chassis and body-on-frame construction.
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A second-generation Land Rover Defender was unveiled in 2019 and revived the nameplate after a three-year absence, built on an all-new aluminum monocoque platform.
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Production of the original Land Rover Defender ended in January 2016 after nearly seven decades of continuous manufacture.
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The Land Rover Defender name was officially adopted in 1990, replacing the original Series designation that had been used since the vehicle's 1948 introduction.