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Old Land Rover Defender Returns For 2018 With V8-powered Special Edition

Thought the Defender is dead? Not even Land Rover has the heart to kill it off for good, despite the fact production stopped on January 29th, 2016.
2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition 25 photos
Photo: Land Rover
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As the British automaker develops the all-new Defender day in and day out in sub-zero weather, hiding as a shortened Ranger Rover Sport, the Defender we all know and love soldiers on into 2018 through the help of Land Rover Classic. The classic division will produce 150 examples of the breed, all of them based on the 2016 Defender in 90 and 110 configurations.

Re-engineered with eight-cylinder grunt to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Great Britain’s answer to the Willys Jeep, the Defender Works V8 is gifted with the 5.0-liter from the Jaguar F-Type SVR, but minus the supercharged. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen! It’s a naturally aspirated V8 under that bulging hood, developing 405 PS and 515 Nm of torque.

The most powerful and fastest Defender in Land Rover history can hit 60 mph in 5.6 seconds from a standstill, with the ZF-developed eight-speed automatic sending all those ponies to all four wheels. The transmission is joined by heavy-duty differentials front and rear, a torque-biased center differential, and two-speed transfer box for ultimate off-road capability.

Top speed? Limited to 106 miles per hour (170 km/h), which sounds scary considering how unbecoming it is to stretch the legs of the Defender. Care to guess how much Land Rover Classic charges for the Works V8? Pricing starts at £150,000 for the short-wheelbase 90, and that’s a lot of money!

For those hard-earned pounds sterling, the British automaker equips the Works V8 with lots of desirable equipment, including the Classic Infotainment System, Pistol Shifter for the transmission, high-performance suspension, and 18-inch Sawtooth alloy wheels wrapped in 265/65 tires. Bi-LED headlights, on the other hand, are optional. As for customization, the customer can choose from eight colors, including two satin finishes.

With the announcement of the Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition, Land Rover assured that it “intends to continue the Defender lineage.” Given this promise, the automaker will “ensure the longevity of the Defender name” with the all-new model, but beware: the next-generation model will not be body-on-frame. That, however, won’t be a problem for off-road enthusiasts considering how capable the L462 Discovery is.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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