Is this a new Land Rover Defender in CAMOUFLAGE? Nope, it’s the ‘iCar’ V27

Chery Brand ‘iCar’ is about to reveal their new V27 4×4 in Dubai, a range-extender SUV remarkably similar to the Land Rover Defender.

The car landscape is changing at breakneck speed as governments legislate a future where only electric cars can be sold, with legacy car makers struggling to compete against a wave of technically clever cars coming out of China at lower prices, and younger car buyers, in particular, no longer convinced that the best car buy is from well-known brands.

As a result, we’re seeing a wave of new Chinese cars from the likes of BYD and Chery entering the UK market with brands that didn’t exist until the last few years.

Although Chery as a brand isn’t yet in the UK market (although its Tiggo is on the way), JLR’s Chinese partner is already in the UK market with its Jaecoo and Omoda brands and is planning to launch its iCar brand here this year, although (because Apple) it’ll be ‘iCaur’ when it sells outside China.

We don’t yet know exactly which iCaur models will arrive in the UK, although the V23 – a small, electric SUV – is likely to be the first UK offering.

Now, there’s a new iCaur model about to be revealed in Dubai tomorrow – the iCaur V27 – which looks to be a dead-ringer for the Land Rover Defender (Chery is a long-term partner with JLR in China and building the new Freelander brand).

The V27 looks set to come with a range-extender petrol engine rather than an electric powertrain, with a 1.5-litre petrol engine charging either a 22kWh or 33kWh battery, which then powers the electric motors, good for up to 450bhp, with prices in China expected to start from just £20k (it’ll be a chunk more if and when the V27 hits the UK).

Wonder what JLR make of Chery’s iCaur V27?