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Land Rover Defender

The world's most famous 4x4 has been re-launched with some of the most radical changes in its 59 year history – and we've got the first pictures.

Land Rover's Defender now features a new 2.4-litre diesel engine and six-speed gearbox to meet new emission limits, and radical interior which includes a socket to plug in an MP3 player.

The cabin is more hard-wearing than previous models', and a number of new storage spaces have been included. Land Rover say heating and ventilation has been improved to provide a faster windscreen demist; while optional air conditioning cools the cabin in half the time it took the previous model.

Despite the raft of improvements, the basic Defender remains largely unchanged, and still offers three different wheelbase lengths and 14 separate body styles.

As with all its new models, Land Rover includes the cost of offsetting carbon emissions for the first 45,000 miles in the on-the-road price.

Prices have risen by around £400 on each model, with the range starting at £18,645 for the Defender 90 Pick Up, rising to £26,605 for the XS Double Cab Defender 110.

The Defender has sold 1,900,000 units in more than 140 countries since its launch in 1948.