In 2018, the Defender came out of retirement to celebrate its 70th anniversary. To celebrate, Land Rover swapped out the small, underpowered diesel engine for a V8. The Defender Works V8 was born, and with 405 hp in a vintage package, it was one of the coolest SUVs ever.
That was only a one-year run, but it's not the end of the story, as the V8-powered Defender is back, this time in a fresh, modern format. The G-Class has already proven that there's a lot of profit to be made with high-dollar SUVs. If we had the money, this Defender would be on our future shopping list.
Our spies stationed in Europe have captured this interesting-looking prototype. At first glance, it looks like any other 5-door model in the series. However, upon closer inspection, you can see a new exhaust system at the back. This has quad tips that are square and point downward.
It's by no means the craziest SUV the Brits have ever made. A couple of years back, they were working on the Discovery SVX, which combined the family-friendly 7-seater crossover body with the 525 horsepower supercharged 5-liter V8 monster of an engine.
While Land Rover was semi-open about a V8 Defender being developed, the type of engine is still a mystery. The early development vehicles were registered with the UK government as having the 5-liter. This engine is pretty old, but has a fantastic character and is honestly a perfect fit for a no-nonsense SUV. You wouldn't want to deal with turbo lag while crawling up a vertical rock wall.
However, Jaguar Land Rover is widely believed to be in talks with BMW, which will eventually land them a 4.4-liter V8. This can offer anywhere from about 450 hp to 617 hp in the case of the M Competition models. That sounds fast!
Our spies stationed in Europe have captured this interesting-looking prototype. At first glance, it looks like any other 5-door model in the series. However, upon closer inspection, you can see a new exhaust system at the back. This has quad tips that are square and point downward.
It's by no means the craziest SUV the Brits have ever made. A couple of years back, they were working on the Discovery SVX, which combined the family-friendly 7-seater crossover body with the 525 horsepower supercharged 5-liter V8 monster of an engine.
While Land Rover was semi-open about a V8 Defender being developed, the type of engine is still a mystery. The early development vehicles were registered with the UK government as having the 5-liter. This engine is pretty old, but has a fantastic character and is honestly a perfect fit for a no-nonsense SUV. You wouldn't want to deal with turbo lag while crawling up a vertical rock wall.
However, Jaguar Land Rover is widely believed to be in talks with BMW, which will eventually land them a 4.4-liter V8. This can offer anywhere from about 450 hp to 617 hp in the case of the M Competition models. That sounds fast!