Land Rover Defender Sport EV spied up close

Land Rover may have delayed its upcoming electric Defender, but these images show development testing of a new electric vehicle (EV) from the Indian-owned British brand is now underway.

Images shared on the Land Rover Defender group on Facebook reveal a camouflaged SUV parked among a group of Land Rover vehicles at Eastnor Castle in the UK, which is around an hour’s drive from the brand’s headquarters in Coventry and has an off-road test course long used by Land Rover.

The camouflaged SUV appears to be a new mid-size model to slot in under the Defender, which is being referred to as the Defender Sport.

It's expected to fill the void left by the Discovery Sport, which will exit production later this year, albeit with a more upmarket tilt and with available electric power.

The boxy lines and what appears to be an external spare tyre carrier on the tailgate are suggestive of Land Rover’s popular Defender, but there’s more rake to both the front-end and C-pillar designs.

Underneath, it uses the new Electrified Modular Architecture (EMA) that's also set to underpin the next-generation Range Rover Evoque. This architecture had been developed for EVs, but JLR confirmed in June 2026 it will also be used for traditional hybrids (HEVs).

While it's not expected to be as rugged as the larger Defender, JLR has said the Defender Sport will still set the benchmark in its segment in terms of off-road ability.

It'll be the first entirely new product since Defender was spun off from Land Rover into its own standalone brand – alongside Range Rover and Discovery – under JLR’s ‘House of Brands’ strategy. It also marks the first step in what’s expected to be a broader expansion of the Defender portfolio, with JLR also expected to launch another model positioned below the Defender, this one developed for and built in the US.

“Beyond the UK there are vehicle types that are absolutely suitable [for Defender] in certain geographies,” Defender brand director Mark Cameron told Autocar in March.

“The US is now our biggest market, and there are product categories popular there we can absolutely bring Defender into," he added.

JLR has signed a memorandum of understanding with Stellantis to explore "new products for the Defender brand specifically designed for the US market", which will see it enter new segments. One possibility is a new off-road SUV to slot in under the Defender that will use mechanicals shared with Jeep.

It's unclear if such a model, which would allow JLR to avoid steep import tariffs in the US, would take the place of the Defender Sport in the US market, or whether markets like Australia would receive these new models co-developed with Stellantis.

The Defender Sport is expected to be sold in Australia, given we currently get all of the same model lines sold in the UK market – and given how popular the Defender is itself.

JLR is focusing on the Defender and Range Rover marques in its House of Brands strategy, with Discovery being de-emphasised.

“The red line we’ve got to draw is that any future versions of Defender still have to have the same characteristics that every Defender needs. There’s no reason you can’t go smaller, bigger, longer, higher and still cover those bases," Mr Cameron told Autocar.

One Defender derivative that's off the table, at least for now, is an electric version of the regular Defender.

The Times reported this week that an electric version of the large Defender had been delayed until at least the early 2030s. The electric off-road SUV had previously been expected to be launched in 2028 or 2029.

JLR is reportedly selling the delay internally as a measure of the current car's success, with around 110,000 Defenders finding new homes per year, or almost a third of the 350,000 vehicles sold by JLR during the financial year ending March 2026.

According to The Times, the true reasons for the delay relate to cost-cutting at JLR, and the slower-than-expected and uneven adoption rate of EVs, as well as uncertainty about incentives and regulations surrounding zero-emissions vehicles.

The Defender lineup currently comprises the 90, 110 and 130 body styles, as well as the high-performance OCTA flagship and the commercial-focused Hardtop.

Mr Cameron told Autocar the long-term ambition is to position Defender as “a luxury lifestyle brand”.

“We’ve got a portfolio of one model with several variants, but I’m working seven to 10 years ahead to build out this whole brand portfolio,” he said.

“We’ve got to make sure everything we do as Defender has the DNA of the brand: epic built-to-last, go-anywhere capability.”

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