DEFENDER RALLY PARTNERS WITH SHACKLETON AS OFFICIAL EXPEDITION APPAREL SUPPLIER AHEAD OF THE 2026 DAKAR RALLY AND WORLD RALLY-RAID CHAMPIONSHIP

About Defender

Defender embraces the impossible. Each member of the Defender family is purposefully designed, highly desirable and seriously durable. A modern‑day hero that respects the past but at the same time anticipates the future.

Available in 90, 110 and 130 body styles, with up to eight seats, each has a charisma of its own.

As part of our vision of modern luxury by design, Defender 110 is available as an electric hybrid.

Defender Hard Top means business, with 90 and 110 body styles for professional capability.

The tough luxury Defender OCTA is the master of extreme performance – taking performance and capability to another level on and off‑road.

A beacon of liberty that can trace its roots back to the first Land Rover in 1948, Defender is a brand that supports humanitarian and conservation work with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Tusk Trust.

The Defender brand is underpinned by Land Rover – a mark of trust built on more than 75 years of expertise in technology and world‑leading off‑road capability.

Defender is designed and engineered in the UK and sold in 121 countries. It belongs to the JLR house of brands alongside Range Rover, Discovery and Jaguar.

Defender Rally

Defender embraces the impossible, and Defender Rally embodies this to the extreme, demonstrating the ultimate capability, reliability and endurance in the most challenging of environments. 

In 2025, Defender became the official car partner of the Dakar Rally. In 2026, Defender will also compete in the FIA World Rally‑Raid Championship (W2RC), entering the ‘Stock’ category. 

Defender’s capability is designed to take on the most challenging of conditions, with Dakar Rally being the ultimate test. The competition car retains the same tough, purpose‑engineered D7x body architecture as the Defender, based on a lightweight aluminium monocoque construction to create a stiff body structure, in addition to featuring the 4.4‑litre twin turbo V8 engine from Defender OCTA to provide exceptional driveability. 

While Defender will not compete in Dakar until 2026, it played a key role at the 2025 rally as the event’s official vehicle partner in the first of a four‑year agreement. A fleet of 20 Defenders supported the event, which began in Bisha, Saudi Arabia, and ended in Shubaytah, transporting race officials and VIP media. A further six highly specialised Defender recce vehicles will be used by Dakar Rally organisers to plan the routes for the 2026, 2027 and 2028 events.

About Shackleton

Inspired by the life and leadership of polar titan Sir Ernest Shackleton and supported by his descendants, Shackleton is a British exploration and performance apparel company that exists to inspire, enable and equip adventurers to Live Courageously. 

Established in 2017 by Co‑founders Martin Brooks and Ian Holdcroft, Shackleton designs high performance technical apparel for adventurers in extreme environments and offers exploration travel experiences worldwide from the extremes of Antarctica to the Himalayas to the deserts of Oman.

Important notice
JLR is constantly seeking ways to improve the specification, design and production of its vehicles, parts and accessories and alterations take place continually. Whilst every effort is made to produce up‑to‑date literature, this document should not be regarded as an infallible guide to current specifications or availability, nor does it constitute an offer for the sale of any particular vehicle, part or accessory. All figures are manufacturer’s estimates.