After a wait of (checks notes) some 72 years, we finally have a second generation of Land Rover's Defender, and it's just gone on sale in Ireland. For now, prices start at a pretty senior €68,160 which will get you a long-wheelbase 110 version with the 240hp SD4 diesel engine. There will be cheaper Defenders as we go, though. The short-wheelbase 90 version arrives later this year, and prices for that start at €59,410.
The legend of the original
It's been something of a long gestation for the new Defender, not least seeing as its predecessor - the original Land Rover let's not forget - went out of production in 2016. The legend of the original car has heaped much expectation on the shoulders of the new one. As Land Rover itself says: "Land Rover has defined all-terrain capability and toughness from the conception of its very first 4x4. The Series and Defender models before it, have gone above and beyond for decades, securing iconic status for their ability to help people make more of their world. The new Defender takes these much-loved characteristics and reimagines them for the 21st century."
Irish connections in the styling
We'll let you judge the styling for yourself, but it has at least a small Irish connection - Land Rover's chief designer Gerry McGovern has family connections in Leitrim. According to McGovern: "Every detail of the exterior design has been creatively developed to re-enforce Defender's DNA; sophisticated, durable and extremely tough, a vehicle design like no other."
Commercial model to follow
The Defender lineup will initially come with six models: a basic Defender, then S, SE, HSE, Defender X and a limited First Edition version. All of those will initially be long-wheelbase 100 models, with the 90 arriving later this year. The engines will be the 2.0-litre Ingenium diesel and the 2.0-litre, 300hp, turbocharged petrol, but a plug-in hybrid model will, eventually, follow. A commercial version will join the lineup later this year.