You Can Now Get An Old V8 Land Rover Defender To Match Your New One
Are you lucky enough to own a Land Rover Defender Octa? Does said ownership feel incomplete without it having a classic Defender companion? Then we have excellent news regarding the very nice problem you have.
That’s because Land Rover has announced that you can now commission one of its Classic Defender V8 conversions in any of the same specs that the superb Octa comes in.
That means any of the paint colours from the 626bhp beast, including the previously Octa-specific Petra Copper, Faroe Green and Sargasso Blue, can now be applied to a meticulously restored, V8-converted version of the original Defender. So too can any of its interior trims, with the leather-free Ultrafabrics material making its debut in the Classic V8.
What’s more, while the Octa itself only comes in mid-length, five-door Defender 110 guise, you can get your matching classic as a 90 or 110 Station Wagon or even a 90 Soft Top. You can also option it with a gloss black grille and carbon fibre Defender bonnet script, both aping the same features on the Octa.
As a reminder, the Classic Defender V8 is a full factory rework carried out by Land Rover’s Classic wing. It involves sourcing a last-of-the-line original Defender from between 2012 and 2016, getting rid of its rattly old diesel and replacing it with a naturally aspirated version of JLR’s big, gargly 5.0-litre V8 making 399bhp.
That’s a heck of a lot less than the 626bhp you get from the Octa’s BMW-sourced 4.4-litre twin-turbo unit, but it seems like plenty for something that’s still essentially a piece of 1940s farm equipment, even if it has been treated to a bespoke suspension setup and some seriously beefed up brakes.
Because nothing makes sense in the car market anymore, one of these Octa-aping old-school Defenders costs from £190,000 – over £40k more than an actual Octa, despite them being lightyears less sophisticated. That’s the price you pay for craftsmanship, we suppose. On the bright side, it’s not exclusively a glorified £190k optional extra for the Octa – you can buy one of the classic ones without owning the new one.
Mike joined Car Throttle as a Staff Writer at the start of 2024, a role that sees him driving the news desk, as well as reviewing cars and (often unsuccessfully) pitching features on obscure Italian hatchbacks.
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