The all-new Land Rover Defender Octa is on its way to debut later this year and will be the first JLR to sport this badge. Earlier thought to carry the “SVX” branding, the new “Octa” badge will be used by all the range-topping Defenders in the future.
A little bit of fun fact for all the curious cats here, the name “Octa” is derived from the octahedron shape of a diamond, which is the hardest naturally occurring mineral on earth and fits quite perfectly with the characteristics and pricing of the rugged SUV.
Although the car remains mostly under cover, JLR confirms that the new variant will feature a twin-turbocharged V8 rather than an “AJ” unit in the ongoing 8-cylinder Defenders. This unit will likely be the same 4.4-litre BMW-sourced unit used in various Range Rover models, including the Sport SV which generates 618 hp and 800 nm and has the capacity to move the SUV from 0 to 100 kmph in just 3.8 seconds.
JLR further reveals that the Octa will use the same “6D Dynamic” suspension setup from the Range Rover Sport SV which hydraulically links the dampers front to rear and side to side, giving out more active control over the car’s pitch and roll without a physical anti-roll bar. In theory and hopefully in practice, this should help provide the level of wheel articulation required by a hardcore off-roader like the upcoming Octa, without any kind of compromise on the comforts of the passengers and on-road drivability.
Land Rover also states it is currently testing out the car in the “most exhaustive” range of environments and conditions of any cars to date which includes snow and ice of Sweden to Dubai desert to Nurburgring Tarmac to Moab rock crawls and more.
