Definitely, the Nürburgring isn’t a great spot to test a vehicle of such calibre but it seems like Land Rover is hard at work preparing its longer Defender that will likely carry the 130 nameplate. Or so it seems…
As spotted flexing its muscles at the ‘ring’, the longer Defender will join the 90 and 110 variants and will likely offer seating for up to eight as well as more space.
Details surrounding the prototype remain tight sealed but from what we can make from the spy shots, the test mule looks more like a stretched 110 variant leaving us to wonder if this could be hiding small details.
According to reports, the 130 will add about 72 cm to the overall length. On the other side of things, the test mule features four exhaust tips that look similar to those fitted in the current V8.
What does this mean? It could be hiding the same 5.0-litre supercharged powerplant that churns out 386 kW and 625 Nm torque but with a 48-Volt light hybrid technology.
This could be the reason why Land Rover is testing the Defender at the Nürburgring. Also, we expect other derivatives to be part of the range once the model officially debuts.
Land Rover isn’t prepared to talk about the rumoured 130 but it’s possible that it will go on sale before the end of the year.