Land Rover Electric Defender Proves Capabilities At Eden Project

By Ganesh

Back in February Land Rover revealed to the world, its first All Terrain Electric Research Vehicle, based on the Defender. The project's aim was to come up with a real world functional, highly capable, all wheel drive, off road electric vehicle for the future, which is as effective as the Defender.

The electric Defender research vehicle has proved its worth in tests conducted by Land Rover. The next step in development is to place a fleet of six electric Defenders in different organizations where they will be on duty, performing tasks in real world. The first such research vehicle had its first successful run at Cornwall, U.K's Eden Project, a plant research facility.

All terrain Electric Research Vehicle

All terrain Electric Research Vehicle

The research vehicle placed in Eden Project is a Defender 110 Pick Up, tagged 'All terrain Electric Research Vehicle'. Its daily task will be to transport visitors within Eden Project.

Road train engine

Road train engine

There is a catch. The electric Defender is tasked with pulling a four carriage road train, filled with 60 passengers, over a 6 percent inclination. The whole contraption weighs 60 tons.

Full all-terrain capability

Full all-terrain capability

The great news is, the test vehicle was able to do it without trouble, thanks to its full all-terrain capability and permanent 4WD, all of the Defender's capabilities, which have been retained even it's electric form.

Performance

Performance

The vehicle has a top speed of 70 mph (112 km/h), but in Eden Project it mostly operates at low speeds. With a single battery pack, it can run continuously for 8 hours.

Twin battery

Twin battery

The one in Eden has been fitted with an addition battery so that it can work all day long. This also improves the vehicle's weight distribution and stability.

Power regeneration

Power regeneration

The electric Defender's Hill Descent Control is linked to a regenerative braking system, capable of recharging up to 80 percent of the car's kinetic energy. Thus, the Defender at Eden regenerates 30 kW of power during its downhill trips.

Range

Range

Equipped with Land Rover's terrain Response system, the electric Defender offers a range of 50 miles (80 km), with a 12.5 miles (20 km) reserve.

Recharge time

Recharge time

The Defender All terrain Electric Research Vehicle at Eden Project takes 10 hours to charge completely (4 hours on fast charging), ready for another day's work.

Gus Grand, Climate Change Lead at the Eden Project, said:

Gus Grand, Climate Change Lead at the Eden Project, said:

"We're very pleased to be working with Land Rover on this exciting project. It will be a great talking point for our visitors and proves that electric vehicles can be every bit as tough and rugged as their fossil fuel counterparts, while being much quieter, cheaper to run and with zero emissions at the point of use."

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Article Published On: Friday, August 2, 2013, 15:58 [IST]
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