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V8-Engined Land Rover Defender SVR Expected With BMW Twin-Turbo Power

You’ve heard this one before, and the rumor keeps coming back. This time around, Jaguar Land Rover is understood to borrow the 4.4-liter engine from the M5 and M8 for the all-new Defender SVR. Auto Express thinks that the go-faster utility vehicle “could be landing in showrooms within the next 18 months.”
2020 Land Rover Defender 87 photos
Photo: Land Rover
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In other words, April 2021 is the deadline. Even though there’s no photographic evidence or official statement from JLR, a prototype is reported to exist behind closed doors at the engineering complex in Gaydon. The British publication adds fuel to the fire by claiming the Defender SVR will take on “the iconic 577-bhp G 63” from Mercedes-AMG, and you know what? That sounds perfect!

The only problem with pitting the spruced-up Defender against a legend such as the Gelandewagen is off-road ability. A unibody SUV against a body-on-frame utility vehicle with a military background is no competition at all, let alone the aural qualities of the rather old S63 against the Mercedes-AMG M177 engine.

BMW is also rumored to come out with the M5 CS in the nearest of futures, sporting an update to the S63 with potential for partial electrification. In the worst-case scenario, the S68 will be ICE-only but more potent than its predecessor across a greater rev range. Still, not much is known about the S68 right now.

Only the long-wheelbase Defender 110 is expected to get suck-squeeze-bang-blow from Munich, and that’s a bit of a shame if you remember what the Special Vehicle Operations unveiled in January 2018. Defender Works V8 is how the limited-edition model used to be called, and only 150 examples were built.

Both the 90 and 110 in this flavor feature a naturally aspirated V8 under the hood, the 5.0-liter plant from the Jaguar F-Type SVR minus the supercharger. With 405 PS and 515 Nm of torque on tap, shooting to 60 miles per hour takes 5.6 seconds with the help of an eight-speed automatic from ZF Friedrichshafen.
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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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