Torque show: Inside the Land Rover Defender OCTA

With 626 horsepower, Dakar Rally credentials and unmistakable V8 swagger, the new Land Rover Defender OCTA is the most extreme evolution yet of the iconic off-roader. Simon de Burton gets behind the wheel...

Mention “V8” to most Americans old enough to walk and talk and they’ll instantly know what you’re referring to: the engine configuration – two sets of four cylinders joined in a V formation – that has set a burbling soundtrack on the country’s roads for more than a century.

French inventor Léon Levavasseur patented the V8 design in 1902, but it wasn’t until Cadillac began producing its own version 12 years later that the engine became all but the default choice for American-built cars, vans and pick-ups.

It’s no wonder US drivers found the comparatively feeble 2.25-litre, four-cylinder petrol and diesel motors used in 1960s Land Rovers more than a little lacking. While they appreciated the Landy’s go-anywhere capability, impressive towing capacity and general robustness, its on-road performance was only of interest to them as a cure for insomnia.

It was in 1966 – almost 20 years after the Land Rover’s launch – that the company’s North American product development engineer Richard Green was tasked with adapting a regular, short wheelbase station wagon to V8 power. 

Built in San Francisco and thoroughly tested on a four-day, 5,000-kilometre drive to Land Rover’s American head office in New York, the souped-up, Oldsmobile-powered Golden Rod (named after its yellow paint job) was subsequently shipped back to Land Rover HQ  in Solihull, England. 

Green and his colleagues expected their meticulous conversion to be used as a template for a full production model – but three further prototypes simply ended up as test beds for the V8-engined Range Rover launched in 1970.

By 1979, the increasing share of the off-roader market that was going to more powerful competitors meant Land Rover had to act, resulting in a long-wheelbase 109 model being fitted with the Range Rover’s V8 and permanent four-wheel-drive. It was dubbed the Stage One V8 to reflect the fact that it was the first new vehicle to emerge from the company under an initial stage of investment by the British government that was intended to make Land Rover more competitive.

The Stage One remained in production until 1985, and most were sent for export – not least since many parsimonious Brits didn’t appreciate the V8’s insatiable thirst for fuel. 

That said, amateur “transplants” of Range Rover V8 engines into old Land Rovers subsequently became so popular that, two years after the Classic Defender officially ceased production in 2016, the firm marked Land Rover’s 70th anniversary with a run of 150 Classics powered by a five-litre V8 – and costing £150,000 apiece.

But while the “new” Defender – which finally arrived in 2020 after the best part of a decade in the making – had all the power anyone could  need thanks to its four- and six-cylinder petrol and diesel engine options, plenty of owners  and prospective buyers had a question: “Why no V8?” So, in 2021, a 518-horsepower, supercharged V8 was added to the range, giving the car a top speed of up to 240 kilometres per hour and sports-car acceleration.

But in the modern world where more is more, that simply wasn’t enough: Land Rover announced the arrival of the OCTA, the butchest, beefiest Defender yet, complete with a tuned-up V8 pushing out 626 horsepower, a top speed limited to 250km/h and an extra-wide track for both show and go.

In off-roading circles, it’s questioned whether more power means better performance in the rough – often it doesn’t, especially when the car hasn’t been developed from the ground-up to make the most of the extra oomph. Not so the OCTA, which has improved lower bodywork for more extreme entry and exit angles, wider tracks, the 6D Dynamics suspension set-up – developed for the high-performance Range Rover Sport  SV – and a fun “signature logo” button on the steering wheel. 

Give it a quick press and your OCTA will instantly set itself up for some seriously high-speed on-road driving; press it for a bit longer and its ingenious electronic brain will know you’re up for some proper off-road hooning and will brace the car accordingly.

Since its launch, the OCTA has been widely acclaimed for its boondock-bashing ability – but, possibly because it retains the luxurious feel for which the Defender has become known, there are still sceptics who thinks it’s built more for
the road than the rough. 

To prove them wrong, January saw the new Defender D7X-R make its debut in the punishing Dakar Rally with a team of three cars entered in the “stock” category having been built on the standard OCTA production line. 

The trio not only completed the fortnight-long race that followed a giant 8,000-kilometre loop around the Saudi Arabian desert, they crossed the line first, second and fourth in class to prove that the OCTA is, perhaps, even more about “go” than “show”.

But if you still miss the old-style Defender and even fancy one to match your OCTA, Land Rover’s Classic division recently announced that it will oblige – so now you can have a bespoke-built Classic powered by the standard, five-litre V8 and with OCTA trim and paintwork. The short-wheelbase 90, long-wheelbase 110 and soft-top variants are all available – at a starting price of £228,000. landrover.com

First published in the May 2026 issue of BOAT International US Edition. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.