Words: Rory FH Smith
Once upon a time, a Land Rover was a tool. It was utilised by farmers, firemen and other practically minded persons but, somewhere along the line, it changed. It cleaned up its act, losing some oily-fingered followers in the process while gaining a new crowd who were looking for a car that could cross a field or a swollen stream, but that was also a versatile town and country cruiser.
First launched in 2020, the ‘new’ Defender does this brilliantly, at ease in Chelsea as it is the Cairngorms and more than capable of ferrying a family around. But there was one arena that the road-going iteration hadn’t officially conquered – the performance world. For years the Defender was like a Swiss Army Knife without the, er, knife. Pace was far from its party piece, particularly in a world dominated by high-performance SUVs. Which might be why Land Rover launched a 626bhp, 4.4-litre twin- turbo mild hybrid V8-powered Defender – the OCTA.
With a 0-60mph time of 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 155mph, the latest addition to the Defender family promises to be a match for the mighty Ferrari F50 off the line, only it’s a fair bit more practical.
It sits 28mm higher than a regular Defender and comes with more rugged, wider wheel arches to house those chunky 33-inch tyres. The redesigned bumpers make for tougher underbody protection and, with a drive mode shaped for off-road performance, the OCTA is designed more for the Paris-Dakar Rally than your local supercar meet up. That said, it will happily trundle along to there as well with impunity.
The name is inspired by the eight sides of a diamond, or “the hardest and most desirable mineral on earth,” says Land Rover, which is a nod to its ambition of balancing the rough with the smooth, quite literally.
While it promises to be the most capable Defender yet, when it hits the (off ) road in 2025, it doesn’t skimp on any of the luxuries. Inside there are new sports seats, featuring Land Rover’s Body and Soul Seat audio technology, which allows the driver and front passenger to feel and hear the music. And pay heed to the six wellness programmes “to help relax occupants”, as well as “improve cognitive responses” when navigating Dartmoor or the Dartford Crossing.
The cost of all this? Somewhere in the region of £145,300 for the ‘regular’ OCTA, but for the first year of production, you can opt for an Edition One at £160,800, with Faroe Green paint, khaki interior, ‘chopped’ carbon fibre detailing and 20-inch forged wheels with all-terrain tyres. And the knowledge you can pretty much race anything, pretty much anywhere.
For more from the automotive world, check out our review of the Ferrari 12 Cilindri...
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