Land Rover Defender V8 heats up off-roader segment by Fazeen Abdeen. March 14, 2021.
If the V8 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 was poised to fight for the limelight with the Ford Bronco, the assault has now come from another direction. While we still wait for a high-performance Bronco, the pricier Land Rover Defender V8 is here now and it is a 518 hp beast available in both three-door or five-door configurations.
The heart of the Defender V8 is where the change lies. Under the hood resides the same 5.0-litre supercharged V8 from the other performance derivates in the JLR lineup. The V8 produces 518 hp of power and 625 Nm of torque and channels them through an eight-speed automatic transmission. The Defender V8 can rush from 0 to 100 kph in just over 5 seconds. The top speed is a respectable 240 kph.
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Up Next 2 Mar 2021, 16:50 UTC ·
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Launched in September 2019 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the new Defender had some big shoes to fill since its predecessor is widely regarded as one of the best-off roaders of all time.
Other than the name, it shares nothing with the legendary model. Land Rover dropped the body-on-frame construction in favor of a modern, aluminum unibody, and the whole vehicle looks and feels much more upscale.
For the new model year, the Defender will be receiving its first major upgrade. Both the three-door 90 and the five-door 110 versions will be available with a highly capable supercharged V8.