Land Rover is giving the Defender an enormous efficiency and functionality bump within the type of the brand new Defender Octa, which has lastly made its debut after years of testing and spy pictures. It’s bought a brand new BMW-sourced engine, a wider stance, a revised chassis and a a lot beefier look, all in a bid to make this probably the most excessive Defender ever.
The massive story right here with the Octa is that Land Rover has chucked away the previous supercharged AJ 5.0-liter V8 in favor of BMW’s twin-turbo 4.4-liter mild-hybrid V8 that’s additionally used within the new Vary Rover and Vary Rover Sport. Some fanatics will cry over the dearth of a supercharger wine, however this factor nonetheless sounds imply, and it places out 626 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque by means of an eight-speed automated transmission with a low-range gearbox.
That’s sufficient oomph to maneuver the Defender Octa from 0 to 60 mph in simply 3.8 seconds, a powerful accomplishment in a truck as large as this. Hold your foot in it and the Octa will go on to a 155-mph high velocity when fitted with the proper wheels and tires. You’ve bought your alternative between extra street-focused wheels and tires or beefy off-road ones with 33-inch all-terrain Goodyear rubber.
Land Rover raised the peak of the Defender Octa by 1.1 inches, and it’s not only for present. The Octa can wade deeper than any manufacturing Defender earlier than it, as much as 3.3 toes of water. Its stance and wheel arches are additionally widened by 2.7 inches to present it an actual street presence, and since it’s so extensive, it now has these amber marker lights on the entrance and purple ones within the rear. What a cool look.
General, it doesn’t look too totally different than an everyday Defender, however there are sufficient little touches that’ll let you understand this isn’t a run-of-the-mill Defender, like a unique grille, chopped carbon-fiber bits, quad exhausts ideas, a brand new bumper design, bronze accents, a brand new emblem and hard underbody safety. You possibly can even get a snorkel, due to course you’ll be able to.
Land Rover revised the suspension to incorporate longer and harder wishbones in addition to a unique energetic damper setup. The Octa has Land Rover’s trick 6D Dynamics suspension system, first seen in the Vary Rover Sport SV. Land Rover says it makes use of an “superior community of hydraulically-interlinked constantly variable semi-active dampers nearly eliminates pitch and physique roll on-road.” I’ve not pushed the automotive but, however from the small demo I used to be proven by a Land Rover consultant, it’s fairly spectacular stuff. Moreover, the Octa comes with Brembo brakes which have 15.7-inch discs and six-piston calipers up entrance.
The Octa defaults to the Consolation drive mode, however Dynamic mode will change up the truck’s on-road efficiency by means of modifications to the steering, throttle and suspension settings. Maintain the drive mode button down longer, and also you allow Octa mode. It’s form of a Baja blast mode that’s meant to go up towards stuff like Ford Raptors, Chevy Bisons and Ram 1500 TRXs of the phrase. Clearly, the Octa additionally comes with traditional Land Rover off-road modes like Sand, Mud and Ruts, Grass Gravel Snow, and Rock Crawl.
The Octa may be had in a couple of distinctive colours, like Petra Copper and Faroe Inexperienced which might be unique to the Version One, in addition to different Defender colours like Carpathian Gray and “Charente Gray. They’ll all get a contrasting roof and tailgate in gloss Narvik Black, and prospects can resolve to personalize their Octa with non-compulsory matte protecting movie from the manufacturing facility. Fancy.
Inside, the Octa is as soon as once more pretty just like the common Defender. There are two totally different Ultrafabric choices accessible, and Version Ones will come as normal in a two-tone Khaki and Ebony shade scheme and get another distinctive inside touches. First-row passengers sit in new efficiency seats which have extra supportive bolstering in addition to built-in headrests, and the rear seat bolsters look extra pronounced, too. The entrance seats additionally get LR’s Physique and Soul Seat audio system, which is a really odd factor to expertise however is fairly neat. In any other case, it’s a reasonably normal Defender inside.
The order books at the moment are formally open for the Defender Octa, with a beginning value of $152,000. If you need a bit extra exclusivity, go for the Version One which begins at $167,800. The Defender Octa will make its public debut on the 2024 Goodwood Competition of Pace on July 11-14.
