DEFENDER V8 30
It's here folks, the highly anticipated, and rumoured, Defender V8! If you’ve been around for as long as me, you’ll know that this new model builds on decades of Land Rover V8 heritage, from Golden Rod (Land Rover’s US importer’s experiment back in 1966), to the original Stage I V8 of that began production in 1979. Then of course there was the NAS (North American Specification) models of the nineties, the Defender 50th, and more recently, the powerful Defender Works V8.
The new Defender V8 is available in both 90 and 110 body styles and has Land Rover’s potent 5.0-litre V8 supercharged petrol engine, which produces 525bhp, 625Nm of torque and drives through an eight-speed automatic transmission. It takes you from 0-60mph in just 4.9 seconds with a top speed of 149mph, and drinks fuel at a rate of up to 19.5mpg. And if you’re interested, it has CO2 emissions from 327g/km.
THE MUD LIFE MAGAZINE
To keep the new Defender V8 on the twisty bits of road, larger-diameter and solid anti-roll bars are fitted to help reduce body roll in extreme cornering, while the unique Electronic Active Rear Differential introduces a Yaw Controller that allows fine control of the Defender V8’s cornering attitude as it reaches and exceeds the limit of grip.
