Land Rover Debuts Prototype Electric Defender SUV

Land Rover will display a fleet of seven experimental Defender SUVs that have been converted to electric drive. The Tata Motors Ltd. unit says there are no plans to mass-produce the vehicles.

The electric Defenders swap the standard 2.2-liter diesel engine (122 hp and 266 lb-ft of torque) for a 94-hp electric motor that makes 243 lb-ft of torque. The motor is powered by a 904-lb, 27-kWh lithium-ion battery housed in the engine compartment.

Land Rover says the EV weighs only 220 lbs more than a diesel-powered Defender. Most of the battery's weight is offset by eliminating the conventional engine and transmission. Because the electrified model delivers maximum torque from a standstill, the EV's transmission consists of a single 2.7:1 reduction gear that links directly to the existing four-wheel-drive system.

The electric Defender has a range of about 50 miles the equivalent to about eight hours of off-road driving. The vehicle's aggressive regenerative braking system, combined with hill descent control, can recover 80% of the vehicle's kinetic energy and generate 30 kW of electricity, according to the company.

Land Rover notes that the EV met such performance tests as towing 12 tons of vehicles up a 13% grade and splashing through more than 31 inches of water.