The predictable arrival of the fantastically crude Defender V8 has come a mere week after JLR launched its electrification plans
Jaguar Land Rover, the identical firm that a mere 10 days previously used to be talking about going fully electrical in the very new future, has a new product. With a supercharged V8.
Granted, Land Rover won’t be going fleshy BEV till 2030, five years later than Jag, however there’s still a striking distinction between the 2 most up-to-date announcements from the emblem. No longer that this new Defender V8 is ideally suited – prototypes possess been spied testing for ages.
Within the sooner levels of constructing, we idea the mightiest Defender could ranking a 4.4-litre twin-turbo engine borrowed from BMW since JLR’s contract with Ford to homicide its supercharged V8 used to be coming to an cease. The firm is now making the 5.0-litre units in-condominium, though, and the Defender gets a potent model: it produces 518bhp and 461lb toes of torque.
That’s ample to haul the broad, heavy Defender (we suspect it’ll be successfully over 2.5 tonnes) to 62mph in real 5.2 seconds. The everyday fuel consumption figure in the intervening time is 19.5mpg. Perfect unbiased proper fortune replicating that.
To serve the Defender contend with the newfound thrust and further weight, the chassis has been given bespoke spring and damper charges, fatter anti-roll bars and an electronically-managed locking rear differential. Land Rover has additionally added a ‘Dynamic’ mode to the Terrain Response 2 system, which is speculated to give “a extra agile, playful and responsive character” through the traction regulate, air suspension and torque vectoring settings.
Filthy noise apart, there are just a few methods to issue the V8 instead of alternative Defenders. We have some new 22-sail darkish grey alloy wheels below which would per chance be Xenon Blue brake calipers, a bunch of V8 badges, and a quad-exit exercise.
There’s lots of newness in the cabin too, where Land Rover has clad the seats in special Ebony Windsor leather-essentially essentially based and wrapped the steerage wheel in Alcantara while becoming it with satin chrome trudge shifters.
Inevitably, the Defender V8 within reason dear. The three-door 90 model begins from £98,505, with the 110 costing £101,150 and up.
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The £100good ample Land Rover Defender V8 Is A 518bhp Supercharged Indulgence
