JLR – formerly Jaguar Land Rover – has unveiled the Defender Octa, the most powerful version of the Defender till date. Solely offered in the 110 body style, the Octa is equipped with a new 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 engine. The SUV will make its public world premiere and dynamic debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The company has also announced the SUV will be priced from Rs 2.65 crore to Rs 2.85 crore for the Edition One variant in India. Bookings will open on July 31.
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The Defender Octa features a 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine
The biggest talking point with the new Defender Octa is its engine. The SUV is powered by a 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine sourced from BMW that churns out a massive 626 bhp and up to 800 Nm of torque. This makes it the most powerful iteration of the Defender ever built. Now, if that doesn’t blow your mind, it is worth noting that it does the 0 to 100 kmph run in just four seconds, which is quite remarkable for a 2.5-tonne SUV.
The Defender Edition One is available with a special Faroe Green paint scheme
On the cosmetic front, the Defender Octa sports a few distinctive styling cues. These include extended wheel arches, a reworked grille with greater airflow, a new rear bumper incorporating a four-exit active exhaust system, tough underbody protection including an aluminium alloy front under shield. The SUV is shod with the largest tyres ever fitted to a production-spec Defender. The Edition One is available with a special Faroe Green paint scheme along with carbon fibre detailing. Inside, the SUV features the same interior layout as the standard Defender but gets ‘performance’ seats up front which are upholstered either in leather or with two fabric options as an option. The company claims these are 30 per cent lighter than leather.
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The Defender Octa gets ‘performance’ seats up front
Mechanically, the SUV is fitted with the 6D Dynamics suspension system, introduced for the first time on a Defender. Other mechanical upgrades, as stated by the company include 400 mm disc brakes with Brembo calipers, tougher wishbones, and a revised steering ratio. Ground clearance is also up by 28 mm, and Land Rover states that its water-wading capacity is also up by a metre. The vehicle also gets an off-road-focused Octa mode aside from the standard drive modes.
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The vehicle also gets an off-road-focused Octa mode aside from the standard drive modes
Land Rover has previously stated that it conducted more than 13,960 additional tests, on top of those conducted on the standard Defender. These include durability tests at the Nürburgring in Germany, ice trails of Sweden, the deserts of Dubai and the rocky terrains of Utah, USA among others.
The Land Rover Defender Octa's main rivals in India include the Lamborghini Urus, Audi RS Q8, and Aston Martin DBX.
