Land Rover - Magna Steyr contract

haven

Expedition Leader
http://expeditionportal.com/the-new-land-rover-defender-manufactured-in-austria/

Land Rover and Austria's Magna Steyr have entered into a manufacturing contract. Scott Brady has posted an article on the ExPo home page speculating about the possibility that Magna may build the Defender model. The LR plant in England where the Defender is currently manufactured is scheduled to close at the end of this year. Whether Magna will build the current Defender or a new model is not known.

The linked article contains the press release from LR describing the deal with Magna. The press release doesn't contain the word "Defender." It just states that Land Rover is expanding production at plants around the world, and that the deal with Magna adds to the capacity "to build future vehicles."

Magna certainly has the 4x4 expertise. The company builds the G-Wagen for Mercedes today, and at one time built the Pinzgauer. Magna engineered the 4Matic AWD system for Mercedes, and built most E-Class 4Matic vehicles.

Over the years, Magna has had contracts with most European vehicle manufacturers. For example, today Magna builds the MINI Countryman subcompact SUV.

What's your take on the LR-Magna Steyr agreement?
 

haven

Expedition Leader
At least one British car enthusiast magazine is claiming the new Jaguar E-Pace subcompact SUV will be the first vehicle built by Magna Steyr.
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/92081/jags-baby-f-pace-to-be-built-in-austria

The E-Pace uses a shortened version of the Jaguar F-Pace SUV chassis, which is described as "aluminum intensive." The new Defender has been rumored to employ lots of aluminum in the frame and suspension, lending credibility to the argument that Magna's plant in Graz, Austria will be the birthplace of the new Defender.
 

Scott Brady

Founder
I see this as a huge win for Land Rover enthusiasts. If the new Defender is built to even 80% of the production quality of my G-Class this will be a significant advancement in reliability and durability. What if Land Rover made the next Defender truly exceptional? What if they kept solid axles? What if this was their design benchmark? Fingers crossed.
Mercedes-G63-4x4.jpg
 

PJPR01

Adventurer
What will they call the next Defender, if the name Defender is being phased out? This would be great news if they do indeed begin building a new model, as long as it's not the Matchbox toy car mockup design which was circulating earlier as the Next generation Defender. :)
 

High Center

Adventurer
Maybe....if its aggressively styled....we could call it the "Offender".....

wait...


All kidding aside- I'm with Scott. This is a fantastic opportunity for LR to shift into a much higher strata of build quality and reliability. It would be such a great thing for them to produce a vehicle as reliable as they are ......that thing that they are that makes us all love them.

What will they call the next Defender, if the name Defender is being phased out? This would be great news if they do indeed begin building a new model, as long as it's not the Matchbox toy car mockup design which was circulating earlier as the Next generation Defender. :)
 

haven

Expedition Leader
It will be interesting to see the starting price of the new Defender. In Britain, the 2015 Defender ranges from about $31,000 to $41,000, before VAT and license fees.
 

Antichrist

Expedition Leader
It could be a great move. In fact, it probably is, though I wonder about long term interchangeability. Like in a pinch I could use the door top from my '62 on my '95. But the reality is that that is mostly gone anyway.
It doesn't matter too much to me since they'll be priced out of my reach and even if they were in my price range I doubt I'd really be interested because LR, like all other car manufacturers, are working to make us all Children of the Magenta.
 

I Leak Oil

Expedition Leader
Sounds like it's just a build contract in which case the typical quirky engineering issues will not necessarily be smoothed over.
 

Manimal

New member
In like Flynn. This is certainly a step in the right direction. I'm not interested in a Land Rover Pretender or anything resembling the rest of the incestuous product line that Land Rover currently has going on. At this point in time the Defender has more in common with the Geländerwagen than any other Land Rover vehicle currently in production and I hope it stays that way.
 

66north

Member
I think before we call get too excited about this tie-up it's worth remembering that Magna Steyr is essentially an assembly plant for hire. Give them the parts and they'll built it whether or not they've had any design or engineering input whatsoever. I visited the plant a few years ago when much of Chrysler's EU output was assembled in Graz. It was interesting to see Voyager's going down the line shoulder to shoulder alongside Grand Cherokee models.

Spent an afternoon on their test track driving a Jeep and the Steyr guy riding shotgun's eyes lit up when I started asking him about Pinzgauer and Haflinger. He was an old employee and missed the 'good old days' playing with the Pinzgauer!

Interesting Magna Steyr fact. They are the people you go to in Europe for someone to engineer you a funky foldaway convertible roof.
 

4xdog

Explorer
I talked to an (umm...) very well connected guy at Jaguar Land Rover South Africa last week, and he told me that they were indeed working on a subcontractor to bridge Defender production until the new model is ready for production in Solihull circa 2017. This rumor has legs.
 

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