autoevolution
 

Land Rover Sold Out Defender Works V8 One Month After Debut

As Jaguar Land Rover prepares to take the veils off the I-Pace at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, the British automaker is proud to announce the Defender Works V8 is sold out. 150 examples of the breed, in both 90 and 110 configurations, are planned for production, with the cheapest starting at £150,000.
2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 25 photos
Photo: Land Rover
2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition2018 Land Rover Defender Works V8 – 70th Edition
Let’s start with some quick maths (Man’s Not Hot pun intended). At 150,000 of Her Majesty’s pounds sterling a pop, the total comes in at £22,500,000. And that’s a lot of cash for what is, in essence, a souped-up Defender with 405 horsepower and 515 Nm of torque coming courtesy of a 5.0-liter V8 of the naturally aspirated type.

An homage to the Series III Stage V8 and 50th Anniversary Edition, the Works V8has officially sold out just one month after it was announcedaccording to Autocar. 60 miles per hour comes in 5.6 seconds, with top speed limited to 106 miles per hour (170 km/h). Changing gears is the task of an eight-speed automatic transmission developed by ZF, which is connected to a lockable center differential.

The permanent four-wheel-drive system benefits from a two-speed transfer gearbox, which in conjunction with the differential mentioned beforehand, ensures the Defender is as capable as possible in extreme off-road situations. 18-inch two-tone alloy wheels wrapped in 265/65-section tires, larger brakes, and beefier anti-roll bars are on the menu as well, as are uprated dampers and springs.

Land Rover has been toying with the idea of a V8-powered Defender since 2014. And with the Works V8, the automaker’s dream came true, 20 years after the last V8 Defender was offered in the form of the 50th Anniversary. The older model takes its mojo from the 4.0-liter version of the Rover V8, boasting two valves per cylinder, 190 horsepower, and 320 Nm of torque.

In related news, the all-new Defender is edging closer to production. The last time the carparazzi caught the gentle giant, the newcomer posed as a more compact-sized Range Rover Sport. Riding on an aluminum platform derived from the Premium Lightweight Architecture (PLA) of the Discovery, the 2020 Land Rover Defender will transition from body-on-frame to unibody.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

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.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories