2020 Land Rover Defender reveals more bodywork, fewer sharp corners

The 2020 Land Rover Defender has been paraded around testing grounds in the same boxy camouflage for several months. But now the company has pulled off a significant portion of fake body parts and vinyl wrapping, giving us a clearer look at the shape, which is rounder than first expected, and even matches the instrument cluster photo seen last week.

The overall design of the Defender is still clearly upright and boxy, but every single corner has been rounded off, whether they're on the edges of the hood, the fender flares, or even the lights. It's a Defender that won't poke your eye out. We can also see that the grille borrows from modern Land Rovers with a narrow main opening and a bar across the middle with the oval Land Rover badge. Another detail that can just barely be seen are the little panels on the C-pillar to break up all that window space. We sadly can't tell if this prototype has the extra skylights in the roof indicated by that instrument image.

We only have a few more months before we get to see the production Defender at its debut around the time of the Frankfurt Motor Show. We know it uses a unibody chassis and independent suspension at all four corners, both features are distinctly different from the old Defender. We've seen a prototype that featured a hybrid powertrain, so that will be an option to the inevitable gas and diesel versions. It will also be available in at least two configurations, one with four doors and one with two.