New Land Rover Defender DC100 Concept at L.A. Auto Show

Land Rover has revealed a new Defender DC100 Concept at the L.A. Auto Show in baby blue with extra technology.

We saw the reveal of the Land Rover Defender DC100 Concept earlier this year at the Frankfurt Motor Show, designed as a first view of a new Defender aiming for production in 2015.

But Land Rover made it clear that the DC100 was a work in progress and that it didn’t necessarily define what the new Land Rover Defender will offer.

And that is evident with the reveal of a new Defender DC100 Concept at this week’s LA Auto Show, with a new paint job – a very un-butch baby blue – and some new technology.

Land Rover have added a set of 20″ alloys optimised for off-road use and a snorkel to let the DC100 breath when wading, both designed to show that the DC100 isn’t being conceived to be an on road boulevardier (although it has that capacity) but a serious off-road machine for hostile territory.

The new DC100 concept also gets Land Rover’s Terrain Response system for a simple dial and go solution to a range of off-road challenges. But the DC100 also gets Terrain-i, a smart system that reads the topography in front and suggests alternatives to the intended direction.

There’s also a Wade Aid system which measures water depth and sets up the DC100 for fording water obstacles, a start-stop system and Land Rover’s latest eight-speed auto ‘box with a Driveline Disconnect System which only engages the front wheels unless circumstances require 4WD. Which combined with the new ‘box and stop start should make the new Defender much more frugal.

All of which is very clever, but is it all perhaps too dependant on technology for the real rough terrain? Maybe Land Rover are planning on keeping the existing Land Rover Defender as a base model and are targeting the new DC100 at more sophisticated markets.

We’ll find out in 2015.