Land Rover Defender News

The Land Rover Defender has gone next level.The British carmaker has revealed the new Defender Octa, an unstoppable high-performance four-wheel drive.Land Rover claims it is the most powerful and extreme Defender ever built and it’s easy to see why.Based on the five-door Defender 110, the Octa beefs up performance with a twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8 with mild hybrid boost that is good for 467kW and 750Nm. This jumps to 800Nm when using the dynamic launch mode.Land Rover claims it can complete the benchmark 0-100km/h sprint in four seconds flat, which is impressive for a circa-2500kg machine.The British carmaker hasn’t provided fuel use figures, but if you are asking that question, this isn’t the car for you.The Defender Octa channels the Ford Ranger Raptor with a high-performance off-road mode dubbed Octa Mode.You don't accidentally select Octa Mode: it is only activated by a long press of the dedicated steering wheel or via the rotary dial or central touchscreen.After Octa Mode is engaged the ambient lighting turns red, the dials transform to provide power, torque and G-force readouts. The exhaust valves open and the gear shifts and steering is adjusted for a more dynamic character.Octa Mode is designed for scooting across loose gravel surfaces with ultimate control.The car’s active air suspension can read the road ahead and adjust on the fly. It can also detect if the vehicle is airborne and adjust the suspension to cushion the landing.It enables high degrees of wheel articulation and high levels of damping, while also maintaining taut body control and steering precision.Octa Mode also allows the Off-Road Launch feature for scintillating acceleration on loose surfaces.It’s not just about raw speed off-road, though. The Octa rides higher than the regular Defender for a total ground clearance of 323mm. Lifted suspension now allows for 550mm of wheel articulation and, combined with larger tyres, means approach and departure angles are improved to 40.2 and 42.8 degrees.Wading depth is increased by 100mm over all other Defenders.Land Rover has also boosted underbody protection to make the Octa even more off-road ready.The Defender Octa will be shown in the metal for the first time at the Goodwood Festival of Speed next week.In Australia the Defender Octa will be priced from $291,542 (before on-road costs) and the Defender Octa Edition One will start at $317,592.

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