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]

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