New Land Rover Defender – The INTERNATIONAL RESCUE outing

Two new Land Rover Defenders – out on a media jaunt in Namibia – have managed to rescue a Scania Artic stuck in a dried-up riverbed for three days.

It’s six months since the new Land Rover Defender finally, officially hove in to view, delighting some and disappointing others with its boxy shape as a nod to the original Defender, but feeling a bit like every other Land Rover product but dressed in country clothes.

But Land Rover are adamant that the new Defender is every bit as able as the old Defender when the going gets tough, and they’re no doubt right, although the plethora of electronics now necessary on all cars means you won’t be able to fix it with a screwdriver, an adjustable spanner and a bit of sticky tape in the depths of beyond when it has a bit of a moment.

That said, Land Rover managed to demonstrate the new Defender’s toughness on the set of the latest James Bond outing by showing it doing its own stunts and rolling over and carrying on. Although we’re not sure we’d be comfortable with the bill we’d get for putting everything right if we treated our own Defender that way.

Now, whilst out on a media shoot in Namibia, the Land Rover Defender got an unexpected opportunity to show it really is a workhorse when needed (albeit a workhorse with leather, climate, infotainment…), with pro snapper Damian Blakemore, part of the Land Rover Defender team on the Namibia jaunt, posting on Facebook video and stills of the serendipitous encounter.

The pair of Defender 100s on the Namibia outing came across a Scania Artic stranded in a dried-up riverbed, stuck for three days with the driver running out of food and water and with no comms.

But despite the new Land Rover having a towing capacity of 3.5 tonnes, and two of them on hand, the Scania was way over what should be the capability of the Defender to tow.

But, suitably hooked-up, and despite the dry sand, the new Defenders did an impressive job.