One doesn’t immediately associate the Land Rover brand with performance, certainly not in the same way as we think of some Range Rover products. But the recently launched Land Rover Defender V8 is aiming to change that perception. The Land Rover Defender V8 debuted to the world a few months ago and now this high-performance model has just been introduced to the local market. 

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Fastest yet

The Land Rover Defender V8 is the most powerful and fastest model to carry the iconic badge. Under its bulging bonnet is a 5,0-litre supercharged engine that we know from many other Jaguar/Land Rover products. In its most recent application it produces 386 kW of power and 625 N.m of torque. This engine is available in long- and short-wheelbase body styles.

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Power, as always, is sent to all four wheels. The bent eight is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission, which is the only option available. Land Rover says the newcomer is quick off the line for a vehicle of this size. In 90 guise the Defender V8 can sprint from 0-100 km/h in 5,2 seconds. The longer wheelbase version does the benchmark sprint in 5,4 seconds. Both variants have a top speed of 240 km/h.

More changes

The new engine may be big news, but engineers have paid careful attention to other parts of the Land Rover Defender V8 to ensure it can deal with the additional power. Among the changes are unique suspension and transmission tuning, which includes spring and damper rates that are model specific along with solid anti-roll bars. A new electronic active rear differential helps to provide better agility and engaging handling.

For those who are keen on driving a bit more “enthusiastically” there is a new dynamic setting in the Terrain Response 2 system. This allows a more playful and responsive character according to the press material. This setting provides a sharper throttle and better responses from the continuously variable damping. 

Prices

Defender 90 V8                                               R2 359 300
Defender 110 V8                                             R2 432 900