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Land Rover Defender Works V8 special edition announced

January 17, 2018 05:06·
Land Rover Defender

Land Rover Defender

Despite the massive fanfare whipped up by Land Rover when it finally ceased production of the Defender in 2016, there was no curtain call for the V8 version - a memorable feature of the model since its Series III days.

Just 150 examples of the Defender Works V8 will be built.

"The idea of reintroducing a V8 Defender was something we were discussing as far back as 2014, when we were still building the Defender in Solihull". It's a vehicle that Land Rover stopped selling a couple of years ago, for reasons that are clear to anyone who's driven one: it was slow, old-fashioned, not particularly safe by modern standards and nearly uniquely unrefined.

Both 90 and 110 wheelbase Defender Works V8 derivatives will be available to purchase direct from Land Rover Classic, with prices starting from £150,000 for a 90 in the United Kingdom, or AUD$260,000.

Under the bonnet is a 5.0-litre naturally aspirated V8 engine that churns out a monster 297kW and 515Nm.

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Land Rover promises the model can reach 100km/h in well less than six seconds, making the Defender Works V8 the quickest-accelerating model in its 70 year history. Delivering 399bhp and 390lb ft it's enough to propel the Works 90 from 0-60mph in laugh-out-loud 5.6 seconds before powering on to an electronically limited top speed of 106mph. As you can see from the pictures, incorporating the joystick-style gear lever has required a certain lack of sympathy, but the two-speed transfer box remains, as do the heavy-duty differentials front and back.

Land Rover will mate the V8 engine to an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission with sport mode, beefed up brakes and "handling kit" which includes new springs, dampers and anti-roll bars. The Defender Works V8, as you've probably guessed by now, won't be available in the U.S. Prices, though, can exceed that figure as upgrades, including a TDCi diesel engine and high-performance suspension and braking kits are also available.

Inside the cabin, leather trim covers the dashboard, door panels, headlining and the Recaro sports seats fitted to the special edition while the Classic's team has created a special iInfotainment system which includes sat nav, phone and USB connections. Customers will buy their cars directly from Land Rover Classic. It'll ride on bespoke 18-inch diamond-turned Sawtooth alloy wheels and 265/65 R18 all-terrain tyres. "We knew demand was there for a powerful and fast Defender".

Land Rover has taken a look at the masses of tuners offering pimped-out Defenders and decided that if you can't join them, you might as well beat them - the result is a limited run of 150 old-style Defenders that have been thoroughly worked over by the company's Jaguar Land Rover Classic division based on the outskirts of Coventry.

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