SUVs capable of delivering genuine supercar performance are no longer weekend news. But what if the greatest off-roader of all time decides to join the club?

Words Andrea Albertazzi / Photos Bruno Serra

From (up) here, everything looks better. We’ve already made it abundantly clear during our previous drives with the 110 and the even more versatile 90 that the Defender is the eighth wonder of the world, but this time there’s more to it. Land Rover has decided to sink its claws into the toughest competition on earth: the Dakar Rally. To do so — or perhaps simply as an excuse to justify this new and exclusive edition — it created the Octa. Let’s be honest and not beat around the bush: if you’re looking for a Defender that breaks the mold, but don’t want to turn to the various tuners who sometimes multiply the price tenfold just because they’ve used leather from endangered animals, this might be exactly what you’re after.

It’s fair to assume the Octa will be hugely popular among footballers. I can already picture the training ground of some Premier League club literally clogged with this giant machine equipped with a V8 you wouldn’t expect. And yes, because although there’s already plenty of choice when it comes to V8-powered Defenders, for this occasion Land Rover selected the mighty S68. Yes, the same engine found in the M5 and XM, just to mention a couple of cars we’ve recently driven. So we’re talking about a mild hybrid unit — very mild — featuring a 48-volt electric system in this case producing 635 horsepower.

Now comes the inevitable moment when it’s fair to ask two questions, considering that the Defender isn’t exactly the kind of SUV you imagine powersliding out of a cloud of smoke and shredded tires. I mean, as brilliant as it is in every circumstance — and light-years away from the rough road manners of the immortal classic series — we’re not talking about a DBX, a Urus or a Purosangue. So are you telling me that all this power and the help of a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 might be wasted under a mass exceeding two and a half tons? And let’s not forget that this isn’t simply an SUV, because when it comes to off-road skills it’s still perfectly worthy of comparison with the generations that came before it and made it — without question — the greatest off-roader of all time. Period. End of discussion.

Having this much power beneath your right foot could therefore seem like little more than an exercise, a pointless display. And yet, something tells me those thoughts are about to be shattered by a model that makes no attempt to hide its exclusivity — especially in Edition One spec, which will relieve you of just over €200,000 of your savings for a very good reason.

The Octa is fairly easy to recognize, even if you don’t have a standard version parked next to it for comparison. It sits around 28 millimeters higher, has a track widened by 2 or 3 centimeters, a front grille enlarged to better cool the V8 and twin exhaust outlets at the back — a genuine delight every time you start it, but also once on the move, enhancing a soundtrack that, with valves open — even in normal driving mode (which Land Rover calls Comfort) — fills the cabin with a raspy metallic tone. Beyond that, the major differences come in the form of “chopped” carbon fiber trim both inside and out. The piece on the center tunnel is especially beautiful, though it’s a shame the seatbelt could end up scratching it.

But these aren’t merely cosmetic tweaks, because the Octa immediately displays road abilities unlike any other 110. The wider track increases the sensation of stability in corners and limits body roll and this is where the dedicated mechanical package comes into play. First and foremost, the steering, whose ratio has been reduced to 13.7:1, making the Defender even more precise than before. This is actually the first real moment in which I realize this isn’t just another variant, but rather a series of much deeper modifications than one might have imagined — modifications that make the twin-turbo V8 genuinely usable. And believe me, I couldn’t wait to find out.

Among the many driving modes — which we’ll get to shortly — the one I came here for is undoubtedly the Octa mode. There’s even a dedicated button at the bottom of the steering wheel that activates it with a single click. The same symbol appears discreetly on the exterior badge, where you’d normally find the Land Rover oval. Instantly, the V8 grows louder and that man-machine connection which previously prioritized a level of comfort increasingly distant from the G-Class many consider its eternal rival suddenly gives way to a sharpness and directionality reminiscent of a Range Rover Sport SVR.

Actually, it’s even better. Maybe the credit goes to the tires, which — while not the ultimate choice for pure tarmac performance — are the ideal compromise for making the Defender feel perfectly at home both on asphalt and dirt. They’re Michelin Primacy All-Season tires and represent one of three options available for your Octa. The other two, more specialized setups, will naturally cost you several kilometers per hour in terms of top speed.

Ah yes, top speed — the one that, without the electronic limiter stopping it at 250 kph, allows the Defender to reach 277 kph. And in simple terms, once you enter a corner, this Defender lets you keep your foot planted, allowing the weight to be absorbed by the 6D Dynamic Suspension system, capable of almost completely eliminating roll and pitch. The secret lies in this particular electronically controlled air suspension setup, which uses a hydraulically interconnected system constantly communicating individually with all four wheels. In other words, you can drive this thing seriously fast and this time it doesn’t matter if you feel a bit like a privileged passenger, because this isn’t a sports car. It’s an object entirely at your service.

All I need now is a rough trail and to understand whether the off-road skills remain intact. After all, even if today people buy a Defender for what it represents and not purely to exploit its maximum capabilities, the knowledge that it can still climb vertical walls is an integral part of its very existence. It’s no coincidence that right now I leave the asphalt behind and let Terrain Response 2 adapt the vehicle by selecting among the various modes that increase ride height and traction management. As always, the countless cameras positioned around every corner of the vehicle prove invaluable, especially given the dimensions of the 110.

So alongside the already mentioned Comfort, Dynamic and Octa modes, we have Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud/Ruts, Sand, Rock Crawl, Wade and a customizable setting. Be honest: if you get stuck somewhere, it’s probably entirely your fault. The point is that in 99.9% of situations, the Defender will still get you out, even from the harshest scenarios. Exactly, trying to catch it out by assuming this injection of horsepower and steroids has somehow “domesticated” it is practically pointless, because that simply isn’t the case. The massive 275/R22 tires keep moving forward while inside the cabin you remain in complete comfort. The 50-profile sidewall becomes particularly useful in seemingly extreme passages, protecting the wheel rim on one side while absorbing the friction needed to climb rocks or natural steps of any kind on the other.

Land Rover didn’t just claim it, it actually demonstrated how perfectly at home the Octa feels among desert dunes. Being quite far from the equator, I didn’t get the chance to test that personally, but there’s no doubt that the Dakar program played a crucial role in shaping this car. As fun and satisfying as it is to climb a mountain effortlessly, the fact that there’s a V8 this powerful under the hood constantly tempts me to get back onto the road and drive it like an absolute hooligan. Exactly the way I like it.

Octa mode engaged in a nanosecond. The volume rises just enough inside the cabin to heighten involvement even before launching your foot down. The 635 horsepower — as we said — is something never seen before in a Defender. The advantage of using a turbocharged engine rather than a supercharged one is the greater low-end torque. We’re talking about 750 Nm arriving at just 1,800 rpm before pulling hard all the way to nearly 6,000 rpm. And notice carefully: I said “pulling,” not “slamming you to the ground” and not by accident. We touched on the reason earlier: pitch is practically nonexistent, even when deploying full power from a standing start.

The steering wheel paddles let you shift manually, but even in automatic mode the 8-speed transmission — not a dual-clutch unit — performs brilliantly and naturally it also features low-range gears for when you decide to tackle truly serious off-road. If I had to criticize one thing, I would have preferred aluminum paddles rather than plain plastic. That said, the driving position is superb, visibility is good at least looking forward, though turning around requires the help of the parking cameras. Try parking a three-room apartment on wheels yourself.

Returning to the engine, the use of this powertrain developed in collaboration with BMW is precisely one of the key factors that makes the Octa truly different from the P525 (even though that one is a 90). I’m referring to the way the power is delivered, but above all how immediately available it feels to the driver, thanks to a responsiveness that allows the Octa to sprint from 0 to 100 kph in just 4 seconds.

Four seconds. You read that correctly, just like a Ferrari F50. And we’re talking about one of the most iconic supercars ever made, powered by an engine derived from Formula 1. So forgive the age difference, because the Defender essentially weighs twice as much, carries three more people, luggage and everything else I won’t bother listing not because I intend to compare them directly, but rather to paint the clearest possible picture of the dynamic aura of something like this.

Ultimately, the Octa is the best excuse Land Rover could have come up with to justify its growing interest in the world of Dakar racing. It’s the most outrageous version ever built and, without fear of misunderstanding, the ultimate one. Is it necessary? Absolutely not, but only because a Defender is exceptional regardless of all those factors which, thankfully, have never diminished the greatness of a model that was and still continues to be iconic. Whether it has 77 horsepower or 635.

LAND ROVER DEFENDER OCTA EDITION ONE

Engine V8 cylinder twin-turbo Mild-Hybrid, 4.395 cc Power 635 hp @ 6.000-7.000 rpm Torque 750 Nm @ 1.800-5.850 rpm

Traction All-Wheel-Drive Transmission 8-Speed Automatic Gearbox Weight 2.585 kg

0-100 kph 4 sec Top Speed 251 kph (limited) Price from€205.900