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One 2022 Land Rover Defender V8 Will Cost You Two Base Defenders

When I first saw the pricing information for the Defender V8, I thought that my eyes are deceiving me or that someone at Land Rover got the numbers wrong. $97,200 for a V8 introduced back in 2009 is a little too much, don’t you think? I’m also a little worried that a hundred grand makes the Defender V8 the most expensive Land Rover on sale today.
2022 Land Rover Defender V8 20 photos
Photo: Land Rover
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The pricing in the opening paragraph applies to the Defender 90, the short-wheelbase version that should serve you better off the beaten path than the Defender 110. If you really need the extra space, then prepare to pony up $100,400 for the long-wheelbase body. On top of these two, there’s the Carpathian Edition that retails from $104,000 and $107,200, respectively.

Revealed yesterday to much critical acclaim, the Defender V8 develops 518 horsepower and 461 pound-feet (625 Nm) of torque. Not bad for a 5.0-liter motor with a thumpin’ blower towering over it. However, one has to ask himself what kind of person would choose the Landy over a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 or something more luxurious such as a Toyota Land Cruiser?

Two customer pools come to mind. On the one hand, we have the same people who spent more than $200,000 for a Defender Works V8 from the previous generation. You know, the one with a ladder-frame chassis. The second demographic consists of individuals who drive mostly in the urban jungle, especially in well-to-do areas where the cool kids like to hang out.

Criticism aside, the Defender V8 has the makings of a future classic because the Jaguar AJ-V8 engine will be replaced by electric motors in a few short years. By 2030, to be more precise, when zero-emission vehicles will account for 60 percent of Land Rover’s sales volume. Sister brand Jaguar, by comparison, will convert to all-electric power across the board by 2030.

Last, but certainly not least, take another look at the headline. The entry-level spec with the short wheelbase and four-cylinder turbo starts from $47,700 for the 2022 model year, which means the Defender V8 costs the same as two base Defenders. Is it twice the car, though? That's up to you to decide.
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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.
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