It's back: Covers come off the new Land Rover Defender

Yes, the 2020 model is here, and it isn't scared of heights either

If you're reading this, you've read the headline and probably won't reach the end of this sentence before looking at the pictures. No one would blame you.

Yes, the 2020 Land Rover Defender has been unveiled, with all the pomp and circumstance of a royal wedding, and not a minor one at that.

The manufacturer hasn't been shy about building up the event, with a series of advance publicity stunts, including one involving footage of the new vehicle tearing up the desert around Dubai.

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This is no surprise, if the boasts being made about the Defender are, in fact, correct. It's said to be the most capable and durable Land Rover ever.

The covers came off at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany, with a display showing the new vehicle descending an incline of 42 degrees. That's enough to make your average 4x4 need scaffolding.

The new Defender will potentially serve in an official capacity in the UAE as it was put through its paces before a group of all-terrain experts from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies when it came to Dubai in August.

This relationship dates back 65 years, to 1954, when the first specially adapted Land Rover entered service in the region as a mobile dispensary.

A distinctive silhouette makes the new Defender instantly recognisable from its Range Rover and Discovery peers, and this new version comes complete with the latest electrified powertrains.

The range comprises Defender, S, SE, HSE, First Edition and top-of-the-range Defender X, and they'll be available in the Middle East soon.

Prices start at around £40,000, which is currently around Dh180,000.