New Land Rover Defender prototype interior posted on Twitter?

Earlier today, a lighthearted Twitter exchange unearthed a curious Land Rover interior shot, purportedly showing the dashboard of the upcoming 2020 Land Rover Defender – easily identifiable since the steering wheel and passenger side proudly proclaim the vaunted Defender name. But the other thing seemingly confirming the image's legitimacy is even more interesting: a Land Rover press executive's response suggesting that the poster delete the image as it was "not supposed to be shared". Defender, defended.

There seems to be a reasonable chance what we're looking at is a styling mockup of what could eventually end up as the production vehicle's interior. We can't be certain, of course, and even if the cabin of the eventual 2020 vehicle wouldn't look exactly like it does on the above shot, the serious response gives it some credibility: it's either so far in the right direction that it doesn't do LR any favors to be out in the open yet, or it's something that has been considered earlier and then unceremoniously scrapped.

The "Stop" and "Go" labels on the pedals are details that might end up on the cutting room floor, for instance, but the surfaces and details are part mock-up, part production credible. The addition of what looks like a pixelated face between the digital-looking gauges also has us puzzled. Still, lifting the automatic gearshift lever close to the driver's right hand, on top of a chunky-looking center console looks like a good, ergonomic move, and despite the dashboard touchscreen's existence, there still seem to be enough physical buttons left.

By now the tweet has been deleted, as is perhaps wise, but the photo is irretrievably out there. Jalopnik quotes another Land Rover PR person as saying that the image is "an older out-of-date internal photo", not much more. So, it'll take until some interior spy shots surface that we can surmise how close to the real thing the Valentine's Day Leak shot is.