From the creator of the Ford Raptor comes a new rip-snorting Defender, nearly half a decade in the making.
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Here it is, in all its glory: the Octa, Land Rover’s fastest, most powerful Defender ever. But if you ask its creator, Jamal Hameedi, as I did recently at the vehicle’s LA reveal, the impressive off-roader portends so much more.
Track monster
The Land Rover Defender Octa is a new high-performance, ultra-capable Defender 110.
According to Hameedi, the Head of Special Vehicles at Land Rover (and whose CV includes the development of Ford Raptor), the manufacturer tested the new Octa over 1,000,000 kilometers, both off-road and on the track.
Interestingly, it’s the latter location where Hameedi thinks the new Octa really shines.
“This thing is as fun, maybe more fun, to drive on a track as it is off-road.”
“This thing is as fun, maybe more fun, to drive on a track as it is off-road,” they said. “I’ve never seen that before and it makes the Octa really special. We even tested the Octa at the Nurburgring.”
A diamond on the rough
With the Octa, Land Rover doubles down on a trend of pushing each of its vehicles as their own sub brand. For example, the Defender and the Range Rover are now two distinct entities.
Octa, which stands for diamond, will be Defender’s new ultra high-performance line. (Think: AMG to Mercedes or M to BMW. It’s much more than a bigger engine.) Meanwhile, “Special Vehicle [Operations]” will underpin the high-performance Range Rover models.
Expect to see a lot of ‘Octa’ references in the coming years. In fact, Land Rover has already started to tone back the Land Rover badge on new cars.
The most powerful Defender ever
Land Rover did not hold back on equipping its new flagship. The Octa is packed to the gills.
- Power: The Defender is powered by a BMW-sourced 4.4-liter Twin Turbo mild-hybrid V8 producing 626 HP and up to 553 lb-ft of torque. 0-60mph comes in 3.8 seconds.
- Huge Speed: Certain models have a top speed of 155 mph. To stop that much mass, Octa comes with massive Brembo brakes.
- Suspension: Land Rover has rolled out a reworked version of the 6D Dynamics suspension originally released in the SV Range Rover Sport. Here, it’s able to level out pitch and roll. If you’ve seen those robo-toys that keep the ball level on a surface then you can imagine what this does for the Defender.
- Tires: When optioned with the new 20-inch off-road wheels, the Defender is equipped with a special new tire that Hameedi told me took two years to develop. It’s a 33-inch (275/60 R20) 3-layer legitimate off-road tire that’s also capable on a track (shown in our live pics).
- Lift: 1.1-inch lift, along with the lift of the larger off-road tires and a nearly 3-inch wider stance, gives the Defender really serious presence in person. It’s capable of an additional 100mm of wading depth.
- Exterior Details: An all-new front bumper, massive fender flares, graphite body protection and chopped carbon fiber details make up most of the exterior changes
- Inside: All-new seats (front and rear) with special fabrics including leather and animal-free fabrics. And more interestingly, Land Rover has incorporated in-built subwoofer-like actuators from Subpac and Coventry University into the seats to better feel your music. It’s like a bass shaker in premium movie theaters. Expect to see more of this.
- Tastefully Over the Top: The US spec clearance lights (like you see on high-performance pick-up trucks) and the dual raised air intakes are over-the-top but necessary on the Defender Octa due to the V8 and the 80-inch wide stance. The fact that they’re necessary to meet legal requirements is just icing on the cake. I’m sure we’ll see people retrofitting these to Defenders as quickly as parts are available.
- Competition: A clear volley at the Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG.
A special version for early adopters called “Edition One” has special Faroe Green paint with matte wrap and chopped carbon fiber detailing. The bronze tow hooks are an especially fancy touch. This is the model in our photos.
When will you see it in the wild?
The public debut of the Defender Octa will happen at Goodwood Festival of Speed on July 11.
For those of you not in the UK, you’ll need to standby. Only 4,010 units will be created for the first year, of which just 1,000 will come to the US.
Pre-orders will debut soon with production starting in October.
Price: As you’d expect, a big premium
- The standard Defender Octa starts at an MSRP of $152,000. You can expect your local dealership, depending on its scruples, to mark that up.
- The Defender OCTA Edition One, shown here in the pics, which will only be available in the first year of production, will have a starting price of $167,800.
Stay tuned for more insights once we get behind the wheel of the Defender Octa.
