Land Rover Defender

[mht]

Does anyone have any idea as to what happened to the Land Rover bid for the LUVW project? Obviously the G-Wagen was chosen, but why did the Land Rover bid fail? My guess is their bid was too high.
Any thoughts on how the Defender series would‘ve performed? I know the Royal Marines, Paras, and would assume British Special Forces (SAS/SBS) use them as well, and with my limited knowledge it seems like a capable utility vehicle...

 

[A_Berry]

The two vehicles are really in two different categories - almost like comparing the LUVW to Hummers.

I have experience with both vehicles - the LUVW in Canada from when they were first brought in and the Landrover 110 RFSV here in Australia. The VW design was certainly cheeper and allowed more Canadian content - I believe that they cost $22K at the time. I believe that it was a good deal at the time - keeping in mind cost, task and content.

The RFSV that we drive downunder is a superior vehicle in many ways - it has a reasonable size, powerful and sturdy. It is not as versatile (seats 3 with a removable jump seat, no radio mounts) but it is tough - we have to carry 4 spare tires due to the remoteness and tough terrain. I would destroy a LUVW in a few hours here - either the engine wear plate would be sitting 50 m back, or would be stuck in some river crossing. A hummer is too wide for up here - I would kill for the ground clearance and the adjustable tire pressure mind you.

As an aside, I heard a story that the Americans wanted to sell off surplus Hummers for $3K each a few years later.

The LUVW is a great vehicle for the terrain that it serves and great bang for the buck - personally, I drive a Landrover Discovery because of my respect for the RFSV and trials that I have had with it.