Land Rover has decided to treat itself with a special gift on its birthday. In honor of the esteemed British off-road brand’s 70th anniversary, Land Rover is creating a limited series of the most powerful Defenders ever manufactured by the company—vehicles equipped with a 400-hp V8 engine capable of accelerating the iconic square-shaped legend from 0 to 60 mph in just 5.6 seconds.
These models won’t technically be considered “brand new” Defenders, as JLR officially halted production of the boxy model in 2016, and the next-generation version is still in the pipeline. Instead, Land Rover will revamp 150 Defender 90s and Defender 110s with a naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 engine generating 405 metric horsepower (equivalent to 399.3 Imperial horsepower, but let’s round it up to 400) and 515 Newton-meters (380 pound-feet) of torque. This marks a substantial boost compared to the original factory versions; for instance, North American-market Defenders from the 1990s only delivered 182 horsepower from their 3.9-liter V8 powerplants.
Naturally, full-time four-wheel-drive with a low-range gearbox and front, center, and rear differentials come as standard—it’s a Defender, after all—but the power to the wheels is channeled through an eight-speed automatic transmission with a unique “pistol shifter,” although regrettably not borrowed from a ’69 Dodge Charger.
The great strength of the Defender Works V8, its official name, means it is the quickest factory Land Rover Defender ever. Notwithstanding, it may not outpace most Range Rover Sport SVRs in a race. Along with the 5.6-second dash to 60 mph (specific to the lighter Defender 90 version), the Works V8 variant reaches a remarkable top speed of 106 mph. Frankly, that speed may exceed a comfortable limit for driving a Defender, but Jaguar Land Rover has also upgraded the suspension and brakes in these modified Land Rovers—equipped with new springs, shock absorbers, sway bars, and 13.2-inch calipers upfront and 11.8-inch calipers at the rear—potentially making high-speed driving less intimidating than in an original model.
If you’re anything like us at this moment, your keyboard or phone is possibly coated with a thin layer of saliva. Regrettably, even if you have the £150,000 (approx. $207,000 as per current exchange rates) needed to purchase one of these beasts, you will not be able to do so unless you reside in the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, it could be deemed worthwhile to renounce your nationality for one of these marvels.
