New Land Rover Defender DC100 concept

This is a new Land Rover Defender, but not like anything that has won the badge in the past.

Land Rover is reinventing and refining its down-and-dirty workhorse for the 21st century and the result goes public next week at the Frankfurt Motor Show - wearing a DC100 tag. It's officially just a concept car, but the real reason for the creation of DC100is to test the reaction from Land Rover tragics who would prefer the Defender stays as it is - forever.

It's a similar approach to the Range Rover Evoque, which pioneered a new path into a city-first Land Rover for Mini-type buyers and was also previewed on the motor show stage to ensure buyers were happy to come along for the ride. The new look in DC100is much softer and organic than the slab-sided Defender original, which still looks as if it drove - alongside the first Jeep - away from the celebrations at the end of World War II.

The DC100 promises to be just as tough and just as capable in off-road conditions, which is why Land Rover took it onto a muddy track at Eastnor Castle - its traditional off-road proving ground in Britain - for some pictures. The shots reveal a short-wheelbase, three-door body with a very boxy outline that is softened by a smooth nose and big flared guards covering the oversized alloy wheels.

The nose and tail are both tucked in tight to minimise overhangs and there are style-driven mirrors mounted on stalks and tow hooks in the front end to give a tougher look. There is no news yet on powerplants for DC100, but it is likely to be a hybrid drive for motor show displays despite the overwhelming preference for basic diesels and manual gearboxes in the Defender. Land Rover admits it intends to break the mould on Defender in 2015 and, based on the look of the DC100, it is going for revolution over evolution.