Meet the king of the hill among Land Rover Defenders: the Octa.
Usually, you think about Land Rover in terms of absolute luxury (like the Range Rover) or incredible off-road capability. Over the past few years, the current-generation Defender has leaned more toward the brand’s core off-road experience, while still offering the sort of premium feel modern LR buyers demand. But if you’re a type who wants everything rolled up in one package — luxury feel, off-road clout and on-road performance — the Octa aims to be your choice. In the video below, Tommy gets the first proper look we have at what is the most hardcore Defender yet, packing eight cylinders and more than 600 horsepower.
It took Land Rover three years to get to this point. All the while, the automaker gave updates of just how much of a battering it gave the Octa during its development compared to a standard Defender. The goal? Create an SUV that can handle…well, pretty much anything you want to throw at it. And Land Rover’s still not done, either: It recently unveiled the Octa-based D7X-R concept testing in the Sahara desert. That car will compete in the stock category at Dakar next year.
Back to the car you can buy right now, though. What exactly is a 2025 Land Rover Defender Octa? Underneath, the company’s engineers upped the ante with its 6D Dynamics suspension with hydraulically-interlinked dampers and adjustable air springs. Essentially, the system offers up greater wheel articulation, even with the Defender having fully independent suspension instead of solid axles at either end. The setup also helps eliminate body pitch and roll on the road, so you can make better use of the Octa’s available power.
And powerhouse it is. This is the most powerful Land Rover to-date, with its BMW-sourced 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 kicking out 626 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque in launch mode (553 lb-ft in most other cases). That’s almost as much as a Lamborghini Urus S, with nearly as dramatic a result. This Land Rover Defender — this is no Range Rover Sport SVR, remember — can make the 0-60 sprint in just 3.8 seconds.
Nevertheless, despite the volcanic power level lurking under the hood, the Defender 110 Octa rides on model-specific 33-inch Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac all-terrain tires. While LR could have gone with 35s, this setup ostensibly offers the best of all worlds, with exceptional off-road traction and enough lateral stiffness to handle being thrashed on the pavement. The Octa rides 1.1 inches higher than your standard Defender, so you get a solid 12.7 inches of ground clearance with approach and departure angles of 40.2 and 42.8 degrees, respectively.
The Octa packs impressive performance figures…but (predictably) at great cost.
If you head over to the Defender’s build and reserve page, you’ll immediately spot the price you pay for all this capability and all this corrupting power. And that price is, as you probably already worked out, well within the six-figure territory. In fact, the Octa starts off at $153,625 including destination. That’s nearly $40,000 more than the standard 5.0-liter supercharged Defender 110 V8, with the even more exclusive Octa Edition One starting at $169,425.
Is it worth that kind of cash? We’ll have a more comprehensive off-road review on our TFLoffroad channel soon, and you’ll have a better idea of just how capable it is, especially is comparison to the Mercedes-Benz G-Class.
