September 13, 2011 at 5:03pm by Alexander Stoklosa
The roofless Defender DC100 Sport concept that Land Rover debuted alongside the DC100 next-gen Defender study at the Frankfurt auto show probably isn’t what comes to mind when you daydream of roaming the Sahara in a classic off-roader. Instead, the DC100 Sport looks more like the result of a Mini Roadster and an old Ford Bronco’s one-night stand.
That’s not meant to detract from the DC100 Sport’s appearance in any way. The concept was apparently inspired by old Defenders with canvas roofs, basic and functional interiors, and collapsible windshields. Thus, the re-imagined Defender features a chopped, non-folding wraparound windscreen, a double-hump rear deck, and low-profile rubber stretched over big wheels. Okay, so it seems the only elements the concept actually shares with an old Defender is the lack of a fixed roof, a boxy body, and an impressive cool factor. The DC100 Sport may look a bit impractical, but that racy rear deck hides a decent-size pickup bed and the front bench can support three butts the old-school way: side-by-side.
The DC100 Sport shares its dashboard electronics and central instrument cluster, including a removable multifunction touch-screen panel, with the hardtop DC100 concept. The interior is awash with sustainable materials made from everything from flax to castor oil, although there’s no word as to how much of it is edible (what a marketable feature that would be to the explorer set).
Tags: Land Rover, Land Rover DC100 concept, Land Rover DC100 Sport concept |