Currently reading: 399bhp Land Rover Defender V8 sold out

Brand's 70th birthday produced a limited-edition, re-engineered version of the off-road icon using a 5.0-litre V8

Land Rover's re-engineered Defenders V8 model has officially sold out just one month after it was announced.

Land Rover Defender V8 driven

The model was launched to celebrate the brand's 70th birthday and uses 5.0-litre V8 engine to make it the most powerful and fastest yet made.

The 90in wheelbase model, which can hit 60mph from rest in 5.6sec, is going to be produced in just 150 examples.

New Land Rover Defender edges closer to production as cold weather testing commences

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The Defender Works V8 produces 399bhp and 380lb ft, dwarfing the output of the discontinued standard Defender, which made just 120bhp and 266lb ft.

Land Rover said the new car pays homage to early high-powered engines such as the Series III Stage V8 and the 50th Anniversary Edition. The Defender Works V8 is the first official V8 Defender to be launched since 1998.

Crossing the Atlantic in a Land Rover Defender (sort of)

The re-engineered Defenders use an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission with sport mode, along with uprated brakes, a handling kit consisting of springs, dampers and anti-roll bars, and exclusive 18in alloys with 265/65 tyres.

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Eight colours are offered, with contrasting black roof, wheel arches and grille, and machined aluminium door handles, fuel filler cap and bonnet lettering will feature.

The interior has a leather dashboard, door panels, headlining and Recaro sports seats and use the Land Rover Classic heritage arm’s infotainment system.

JLR Classic to restore recently discovered 1948 Land Rover launch car

Both 90 and 110 wheelbase Defender Works V8 are to be made, with prices starting from £150,000. Land Rover said other high-performance upgrades inspired by the Defender Works V8 will be offered this year, including power upgrades for the TDCi diesel engine and fast-road suspension and braking kits.

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Jaguar Land Rover Classic director Tim Hannig said: “The idea of a V8 Defender was discussed in 2014, when we were still building the Defender. We knew demand was there for a powerful and fast Defender.”

The Defender Works V8 begins a year of 70th anniversary celebrations for the model, culminating later this year with the unveiling of an all-new Defender.

Jaguar Land Rover recorded its biggest annual sales volume yet last year, with 621,109 vehicles sold, a 7% increase on 2016. Jaguar’s sales increased 20% to 178,601, while Land Rover sales grew by 2% to 442,508.

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Ruaraidh 7 March 2018

And why....?

Weren't they making these all along?  There's your profit margin right there.  No different to what MB were doing with the G63.  Now they discover a sold out market after canning the car.

Product Design madness.

Peter Cavellini 23 February 2018

Hmmmm.........

Why couldn’t they just build a thousand original ones....?, wouldn’t they sell?, surely People who owned the original way back would be tempted?, I& they made a thousand they could be sold at a price where most could afford to buy one?, at the silly price they’re asking and limited numbers they’ll sell to Emirates rich People, it’s not meant to be a Luxury Car it’s supposed to be a working utility  ehicle.

Marc 23 February 2018

Peter Cavellini wrote:

Peter Cavellini wrote:

Why couldn’t they just build a thousand original ones....?, wouldn’t they sell?, surely People who owned the original way back would be tempted?, I& they made a thousand they could be sold at a price where most could afford to buy one?, at the silly price they’re asking and limited numbers they’ll sell to Emirates rich People, it’s not meant to be a Luxury Car it’s supposed to be a working utility  ehicle.

Surely that would just be continuing or restarting normal production. Production had to due to regulations.

Marc 23 February 2018

Marc wrote:

Marc wrote:
Peter Cavellini wrote:

Why couldn’t they just build a thousand original ones....?, wouldn’t they sell?, surely People who owned the original way back would be tempted?, I& they made a thousand they could be sold at a price where most could afford to buy one?, at the silly price they’re asking and limited numbers they’ll sell to Emirates rich People, it’s not meant to be a Luxury Car it’s supposed to be a working utility  ehicle.

Surely that would just be continuing or restarting normal production. Production had to due to regulations.

Had to *end*

eseaton 22 February 2018

Well of course they are sold

Well of course they are sold out.  It is beyond comprehension that LR didn't realise they could do this before, just as MB did with the G.  Idiots...

Marc 22 February 2018

eseaton wrote:

eseaton wrote:

Well of course they are sold out.  It is beyond comprehension that LR didn't realise they could do this before, just as MB did with the G.  Idiots...

That they are all sold out is perhaps not the issue, that they would sell was never in doubt. One should ask, should it have been sold in the first place? Cunt...

eseaton 22 February 2018

That's a bit harsh, if

That's a bit harsh, if probably true.

But if they could sell the things so easily for £150k, why didn't they do it before?

A complete lack of vision.

Marc 23 February 2018

eseaton wrote:

eseaton wrote:

That's a bit harsh, if probably true.

But if they could sell the things so easily for £150k, why didn't they do it before?

A complete lack of vision.

It would seem so...

How's the monkey crusade going?

Foresight more than lack of vision. Wait for the nostalgia to build and cash in.

But the question that should be asked is, should they have made it all?

eseaton 23 February 2018

The monkey crusade is not

The monkey crusade is not going well.

Autocar have shamefully decided it is not in their commercial interest to acknowledge it happened.

My little protest is therefore to pick up Car instead of Autocar, as they did have the integrity to write about it.