We may now have the most capable new Defender on the planet thanks to Arctic Trucks, who concluded that the Land Rover Defender wasn’t adequate off-road.
Off-road capabilities has been prioritised by a number of storied nameplates, including the Jeep Wrangler and Mercedes G-Class. Of course, one of the most well-known brands is Land Rover, which is known for its outstanding off-road ability and equally notable amounts of luxury and comfort. But, “impressive” is rarely sufficient for everyone in the car industry.
Hence, Arctic Trucks, a business renowned for adding enormous tyres, flared fenders, and other modifications that crank up the off-road potential of already-capable cars to 11, has acquired the new Land Rover Defender and transformed it into an even more formidable wilderness conqueror.
The set of enormous tyres is the most noticeable alteration. The cosy all-season tyres have been replaced with 35-inch (315/60/R20) tyres mounted on 20-inch forged wheels. The tyres’ enormously thick tread and hefty side walls give the impression that they could move the Defender over any obstacle. The latter was undoubtedly a sensible idea because the last thing you would want to happen on the trail is to damage or bend one of the expensive-looking aftermarket wheels that appear to have been purchased for thousands of dollars each.
Together with the lift package, Arctic Trucks added spacers to the front and back of the vehicle to allow the adaptive suspension systems that came with the vehicle to function as before.The Defender AT35’s seams have been coated with an anti-corrosion coating because it is very likely that it will spend a lot of time outdoors and exposed to the weather.
The signature Arctic Trucks fender flares have been added because bigger tyres would protrude from the body and appear cheap, but they are more boxier and more geometric than usual this time. The bigger fenders are typically curvy, but since the defender is about as boxy as a car can be, the angular flares painted in black look much better.Additional exterior improvements include the distinctive artwork of Arctic Truck, black mudguards, an electric towbar, and a winch.
With the more traditional spring suspension configuration, the Defender’s usual ground clearance is roughly nine inches (228 millimetres), and with the AT35 package, that measurement is increased to 10.6 inches (270 millimeters). The ground clearance increases from 11.4 inches (290 millimetres) to 14.1 inches (360 millimetres) with the suspension set to the highest position, but, if the air suspension system is used. The turning radius has suffered, but the entry and departure angles are all several degrees greater to let you drive across even larger gullies. The turning radius of a stock automobile is 21.3 feet (6.5 metres), while that of an AT35 is 24.6 feet (7.5 meters).
The only Defender model for which the AT35 package is available is the P400 variant, which has a 3.0-liter straight-six hybrid engine with 395 horsepower and 405 pound-feet of torque. However, none of the improvements go as far as the engine. Perhaps because the hefty tyres would put too much strain on the P300 model’s 2.0-liter turbo 4-cylinder and the 5.0-liter supercharged V-8, which is capable of 518 horsepower, would be too thirsty and unruly. The Defender is for sale from Arctic Trucks’ Russian division even though the company did not say how much the modifications to the Defender cost (so probably a frightening price tag is attached).
ALSO READ THIS: NIO ES8 electric SUV (2023)