Land Rover Defender finally seen on showroom floor in Dubai and Abu Dhabi

The car has arrived in the UAE, and customers had their first chance to walk around the new arrival and get inside it

Here it comes... All photos Pawan Singh

It's all looking very shiny in there.

Looking forward.

Looking sturdy, but police officers these days might prefer something a little more modern when it comes to traversing the Emirates.

Plenty of room in the back for the rowdy crew.

Driver-side door looking polished.

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES , June 27 – 2020 :- Extra storage on the Land Rover Defender SE model on display at the Land Rover Defenders showroom on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai. (Pawan Singh / The National) For Motoring. Story by Simon

The new car's rear.

That won't come off easily.

Showing a bit of front.

All very neat inside.

The eye of the Defender.

It's looking at you.

Fancy gear lever.

Something to see who you're leaving in your dust.

A classic Defender.

The anticipation is over – Land Rover Defender fans at last received a chance to see the latest version of the vehicle in the UAE this weekend, as the model took centre stage in a special two-day display.

Al Tayer Motors and Premier Motors featured the new arrival alongside a few of the 4x4’s predecessors at their main showrooms in Dubai and Abu Dhabi on Friday and Saturday.

If you want to take a look at the cars and missed them this time, you can view the display at the Al Tayer Motors showrooms in Garhoud, Dubai, and in Sharjah, on Saturday and Sunday, July 4 and 5. And, should you wish to invest, the starting price for the vehicle is Dh229,000.

This weekend wasn't the first time the Emirates has seen the new Defenders – the car made its inaugural appearance at the Dubai Motor Show in 2019 – but it was still a noteworthy occasion.

The next anyone heard was when an initial batch arrived in May. But these were delivered straight to customers and, aside from those in the business of distribution, only a few could get a look at the Defenders before they were shipped out.

Friday and Saturday, then, was the first time the new cars were seen in a display environment, where customers could walk around them, get inside and maybe put in an order if they fancied.

And Land Rover fans were indeed keen to have a look – there has been plenty of teaser footage of the new vehicle tearing around the UAE desert, and shots of it in the new James Bond film No Time To Die has certainly whet appetites, too.

There are seven models in the new Defender range, including the S, SE, HSE, First Edition and X.