Land Rover to Introduce Twin-Turbo V8 Defender

by Matthew Guy

Published: March 26th, 2024

land rover to introduce twin turbo v8 defender

If you like yer British off-road weapon served with a size of boost, you’re in luck. Land Rover announced this morning they are stuffing a twin-turbo V8 up the nose of its blocky Defender.

Pedants will note Defender is technically the brand these days, at least according to marketers at JLR who are trying to place the model on its own plinth. Part of that effort apparently includes this new OCTA trim, promised to be the most powerful Defender ever to roll off an assembly line. Specs are scarce at the moment but it’s worth noting that max attack V8 models currently make 518 horsepower; something in the neighborhood of 600 isn’t out of the question. This will be a mild hybrid mill.

As for the oddball OCTA name, it apparently stems from a diamond’s octahedron shape. This means you know there will be ample reference to the precious gem scattered about this trim, with a graphic of this nature planned to appear on a number of interior and exterior components. A diamond is generally considered to be the hardest naturally occurring substance on Earth and renowned for its rarity, so the name arguably fits this square off-road beast.

Underneath this SUV will be a new suspension developed in partnetship with a company called 6D Dynamics. The hydraulic interlinked technology apparently features an innovative pitch and roll control system designed to enable the truck to maintain a near-level stance during on-road acceleration, braking, and cornering. This will help whilst driving Miss Daisy but we’re more interested in how it’ll assist off-road, where yaw and pitch can approach wild angles. To this, JLR says it will maximize independent wheel travel and articulation whilst hammering across demanding off-road terrain.

The full vehicle will be shown later this year, in contrast to the Zapruder-grade image supplied today of a camouflaged unit being flung around the countryside.

[Image: Land Rover]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.

#LandRover #JLR #Defender #Offroad #V8

Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

More by Matthew Guy

Comments

Join the conversation

3 of 15 comments

Wolfwagen on Mar 27, 2024

I need to win the lottery

Like Reply
- ToolGuy on Mar 27, 2024
  
  Be careful what you wish for (maybe, depends on who you ask)
  
  Like
Zipper69 on Mar 31, 2024

Sounds alright for mud and gravel games but all that highly complex electronic and hydraulic wizzardry would be suspect for serious rock crawling...

Like Reply

Recent Comments

MRF 95 T-Bird Whenever I travel and I’m in my rental car I first peruse the FM radio to look for interesting programming. It used to be before the past few decades of media consolidation that if you traveled to an area the local radio stations had a distinct sound and flavor. Now it’s the homogenized stuff from the corporate behemoths. Classic rock, modern “bro dude” country, pop hits of today, oldies etc. Much of it tolerable but pedestrian. The college radio stations and NPR affiliates are comfortable standbys. But what struck me recently is how much more religious programming there was on the FM stations, stuff that used to be relegated to the AM band. You have the fire and brimstone preachers, obviously with a far right political bend. Others geared towards the Latin community. Then there is the happy talk “family radio” “Jesus loves you” as well as the ones featuring the insipid contemporary Christian music. Artists such as Michael W. Smith who is one of the most influential artists in the genre. I find myself yelling at the dashboard “Where’s the freakin Staple singers? The Edwin Hawkins singers? Gospel Aretha? Gospel Elvis? Early Sam Cooke? Jesus era Dylan?” When I’m in my own vehicle I stick with the local college radio station that plays a diverse mix of music from Americana to rock and folk. I’ll also listen to Sirius/XM: Deep tracks, Little Steven’s underground as well as Willie’s Roadhouse and Outlaw country.
The Comedian I owned an assembled-in-Brazil ‘03 Golf GTI from new until ‘09 (traded in on a C30 R-Design).First few years were relatively trouble free, but the last few years are what drove me to buy a scan tool (back when they were expensive) and carry tools and spare parts at all times.Constant electrical problems (sensors & coil packs), ugly shedding “soft” plastic trim, glovebox door fell off, fuel filters oddly lasted only about a year at a time, one-then-the-other window detached from the lift mechanism and crashed inside the door, and the final reason I traded it was the transmission went south.20 years on? This thing should only be owned by someone with good shoes, lots of tools, a lift and a masochistic streak.
Terry I like the bigger size and hefty weight of the CX90 and I almost never use even the backseat. The average family is less than 4 people.The vehicle crash safety couldn't be better. The only complaints are the clumsy clutch transmission and the turbocharger.
MaintenanceCosts Plug in iPhone with 200 GB of music, choose the desired genre playlist, and hit shuffle.
MaintenanceCosts Golf with a good body and a dying engine. Somewhere out there there is a dubber who desperately wants to swap a junkyard VR6 into this and STANCE BRO it.