Land Rover developed a top secret concept car five years ago to showcase its new Defender, which was finally unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show this week.
But the one-off show car was never publicly displayed through fear the design would be copied by a Chinese car maker.
“It was about the time we were going to present it because everybody was asking about it [Defender],” said Land Rover design director Gerry McGovern.
“But then we got worried that it would be copied because at the time we were seeing the Evoque being copied in China, the Range Rover Sport [also being copied].”
Some Chinese car makers have a reputation for copycat designs, something that has long frustrated manufacturers as diverse as BMW, Rolls-Royce, Chevrolet, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz.
While some have pursued legal action, Land Rover earlier this year became the first manufacturer to win a court case against Jiangling Motor Holding (JMH), which was forced to stop selling, manufacturing and marketing the Landwind X7, deemed to look similar to the Range Rover Evoque.
At the time Land Rover was scathing of the blatant copying of its design.
“We welcome this decision of the Beijing Court,” said Land Rover legal director Keith Benjamin in a statement at the time. “This ruling is a clear sign of the law being implemented appropriately to protect consumers and uphold their rights so that they are not confused or misled, while protecting business investment in design and innovation.”
McGovern said the company decided to keep the Defender show car secret, in turn keeping the look of the crucial new model private for longer.
The Defender has long defined the Land Rover brand and its design has been central to its success, something clearly high on the agenda for company executives.
“We thought if we show this somebody is just going to copy it,” said McGovern of the decision to keep the Defender show car secret. “We didn’t show it.”
However, the Defender show car will make an appearance at the upcoming Rugby World Cup that starts in Japan this month.
“We are going to show at the Rugby World Cup final,” said McGovern. “It’s going to drive around (the field) once before the beginning of the game and it’ll go around a second time. We’ve modified it so the World Cup comes up through the roof.” – news.com.au