Land Rover appears to be stepping up development of its electric Defender, with a heavily camouflaged prototype now spotted testing at the Nurburgring.
The test mule is still well disguised, but its upright, boxy proportions clearly take inspiration from the Defender. However, there’s one detail at the rear that has caught our attention.
Mounted on the tailgate is a mysterious rectangular box. It appeared on an earlier prototype as well, although it was covered in camouflage at the time. These latest spy shots reveal its actual shape more clearly.
It looks too flat and narrow to accommodate a conventional spare wheel, raising the possibility that it could be used for storing charging cables or other accessories. Mercedes offers a similar solution on the electric G-Class, where a rear-mounted Design Box replaces the traditional spare-wheel cover and can store charging equipment.
Of course, its exact purpose remains unknown for now.
With testing clearly progressing, we could see the electric Defender shed more of its camouflage over the coming months.
Source: @carspymedia
