Land Rover Wolf Defender XD
The Land Rover was the brainchild of Maurice Wilks, a director of Rover, who had purchased a military-surplus Jeep in 1946 and found it useful on his farm in Wales. As the vehicle began to wear out, Wilks reasoned that there might be sufficient market for a similar dual-purpose machine to carry the Rover company through the difficult post-war years. The first prototype was based on a Jeep chassis, and used Jeep axles and transfer case. Aluminium was used for the body panels because Rover could not obtain licenses to buy sufficient steel. Following the completion of 48 pre-production prototypes, the Series I was launched at the Amsterdam Motor Show In 1948. It was an immediate success.
Although there was no intention for the Land Rover to be used as a military vehicle, it was not long before the British Army realized that the vehicle could provide a low-cost replacement for the inventory of aging Jeeps. At the same time, it could also be operated alongside the expensive Austin" Champ" which was still in development. The first military purchases came in 1948 and have continued to this day.
In 1951, the original 1,595cc petrol engine was replaced by a 1,997cc unit. In 1958, the Series I was superseded by the wider and more powerful Series II, which was fitted with a 2,286cc petrol engine. By this time, the original 2,032mm/80in wheelbase had been lengthened to 2,182mm/86in, and then to 2,235mm/88in. A2,718mm/107in long-wheelbase chassis was introduced in 1954 and lengthened to 2,768mm/109in in 1957. Three years later, the Series IIA was launched and, in 1971, this was replaced by the Series III, still powered by the 2,286cc engine and still fitted with a body that was not sissimilar to that used 20 years earlier. The British Army continued to purchase Land Rovers in their thousands and the vehicle was also widely exported.
At the Geneva Motor Show in March 1983, Land Rover announced the replacement of the Series III by the short-wheelbase "Ninety" and the longer-wheelbase" One-Ten", later to be renamed Defender 90 and Defender 110. For the first time the vehicle featured permanent all-wheel drive and coil-spring suspension, and a V8 petrol engine was offered alongside the standard petrol and diesel options. The body could still be recognized as a Land Rover, but there was a one-piece windscreen and extensions over the wheel arches.
The Defender remains in production at the time of writing, and thousands are in service with the British Army and elsewhere, but it was effectively superseded, at least in British service, by the purpose-designed military Wold Defender XD.
A specification for a more capable replacement for the Defender was drawn up by the Ministry of Defence in 1988 and Land Rover, IVECO and Pinzgauer all expressed interest in the project which would culminate in a contract for 8,000 vehicles. IVECO and Pinzgauer were eliminated. In late 1991, Land Rover was asked to prepare prototype vehicles in the " light"(short-wheelbase adn "medium"(long-wheelbase) classes. The vehicles which Land Rover produced were based on the then-current Defender but failed to meet the performance parameters. The trials were called off in 1993. A second prototype, far more radical in its engineering, and now identified as Wolf2, was more successful. Following the trials, Land Rover was awarded the contract and the Wold Defender XD- "extra duty"- was first shown to the public in 1995. Production started in late 1996.
The vehicle was powered by a Land Rover 300 Tdi direct-injection turbocharged diesel engine, giving a top speed in the order of 129 kph/80mph. The drive-line was by a five-speed gearbox and two-speed transfer box, connected permanently to the four wheels through a lockable centre differential. Suspension was by long-travel coil springs, with the axles located by a Panhard rod at the front and an A frame at the rear.
Two standard variants were produced-the "Truck, Utility,Light"(TUL) on a 2,286MM/90in wheelbase, rated for a payload of 508kg/1/2 ton, and the " Truck, Utility, Medium" (WMIK), any Wolf Defender could be converted to a weapons platform, typically mounting two 7.62mm general purpose machine-guns or a .50in Browning heavy machine-gun. All of the vehicles were equipped with a 24V electrical system and half of the total produced were" fitted for radio"(FFR). There was also a 3,226mm/127in wheelbase variant, which has been used s the basis for a battlefield ambulance.
Production was ended in October 1998 after 7,996 vehicles and been built. Of these, 1,411 were the TUL variant, the remainder being the TUM. Most were supplied to the British Army. The Royal dutch marines ordered the TUM and 71 were delivered in 1997.
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