THE NEW LAND ROVER DEFENDER OCTA IS A 626BHP TWIN-TURBO V8 SUPER SUV
This is the new Land Rover Defender OCTA, and the first thing you need to know is that it’ll do 0-60mph in 3.8 seconds. Yep, that Defender that you see up there is as quick off the line as a Ferrari F50. Good grief.
That acceleration comes courtesy of the same BMW M5 engine as in the new Range Rover Sport SV. For Top Trumps purposes, that means it’s a 4.4-litre twin-turbo mild hybrid V8 that produces 626bhp and 553lb ft of torque. Top speed is 155mph, and by the looks of it, it could do that anywhere.
The OCTA name is inspired by the eight sides of a diamond – “the hardest and most desirable mineral on earth,” says Land Rover. So, this OCTA is designed to be the most luxurious and most capable Defender yet. On the outside it gets wider wheel arches to fit 33-inch tyres, redesigned bumpers for better approach and departure angles, new grille designs for better cooling and tougher underbody protection with an aluminium alloy front skid plate.
There’s a new suspension setup too that sees the OCTA sit 28mm higher than standard Defenders, and we’re told that there are longer and tougher wishbones and new active dampers. There’s also something that Land Rover calls 6D Dynamics suspension. It’s the same setup used on the aforementioned RRS SV and essentially means there’s a network of cross-linked hydraulic dampers that work to eliminate pitch, dive and roll on road. You can read our SV review by clicking these blue words.
The OCTA also gets an eight-speed auto gearbox, bigger Brembo front brake discs and the fastest steering ratio of any Defender ever. It’ll wade through one metre of water – more than any other production Defender – and gets a new OCTA drive mode that acts like a Baja mode and prioritises off-road performance. Excellent.
You’ll be able to spec the OCTA in Petra Copper, Faroe Green, Carpathian Grey or Charente Grey, but all will get a contrast roof and tailgate in Narvik Black. Inside there are new sports seats and fabric trim options that are apparently 30 per cent lighter than leather.
Prices will start from (hope you’re sitting down) £145,300 when order books open soon, and for the first year of production there will be a £160,800 OCTA Edition One with the new Faroe Green paint, a khaki interior, ‘chopped’ carbon fibre detailing and 20-inch forged wheels with all-terrain tyres.