The Land Rover Defender is iconic, no doubt about that, but are you among the ones who are.. erm, ‘insatiable?’ Perhaps you’ve been looking towards the Mercedes-AMG G 63 and have almost considered putting your cheque books down until this moment.
Land Rover has now introduced what it calls the ‘most extreme’, and ‘more capable’ Defender yet. The Land Rover Defender Octa has not only been revealed, but it has also immediately made its way on our shores, at a price tag of Rs 2.65 crore (ex-showroom).
Under the hood, the Defender Octa continues with the same 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 mild-hybrid from BMW, producing 626 bhp and 76.47 kgm of torque, paired to an 8-speed automatic transmission. 0-100 kph comes up in an unbelievable (for its size) 4 seconds, while maxing out at 250 kph. But what’s the hardware that makes it extreme?
Well, it gets heavily reworked chassis components such as new semi-active dampers, and longer, stronger wishbones, along with a 6D Dynamics suite with body pitch and roll control. The 6D Dynamics suite also ensures better wheel articulation. The Defender Octa sits 28 mm higher and 68 mm wider than the ‘regular’ Defender, and 400 mm front discs with Brembo callipers have been deployed for stopping power. The redesigned bumpers have resulted in improved approach and departure angles, while the wading depth has also gone up to 1000 mm.
But it’s not all about the hardware. The Defender Octa is still a Land Rover after all, hence you can expect luxury. The front row gets Performance seats with improved bolstering and new headrests, and along with that, Land Rover’s ‘Body and Soul’ seat audio technology is also available for the first time in a Defender. The interiors come swathed in Burnt Sienna semi-aniline leather, and there are two Ultrafabrics PU options as well as Ebony semi-aniline leather.
The Land Rover Defender Octa will be shown to the public for the first time 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed, from July 11-14. Now if only we could fly all the way there…
