Motoring Review: Land Rover opts for V8 engine in latest Defender

Land Rover didn’t need to build the V8. The petrol and diesels do just fine for the reinvented Defender these days, and of course the plug-in hybrid version gives the toughest Land Rover a green conscience.

But sometimes the best cars are the ones that didn’t have a requirement to exist, and you could certainly say that about the Defender V8. While it feels like it’s very unfashionable, politically incorrect, gross, and so on, to talk about a large 4×4 powered by an old-school eight-cylinder engine, the V8 and the Defender do have a history.

Thirty years on and it’s quite a different engine of course. That old Rover engine has been dead for a long time, but the 5.0-litre supercharged V8 this car gets is hardly in its first flush of youth either.

The 5.0 AJ-V8, previously built by Ford but now by Jaguar Land Rover itself, dates back to the mid-Nineties in one form or another, and in recent years has been the engine JLR has turned to when it needed a thumping range-topper for a Jaguar or Land Rover model.

The AJ-V8 has come in various states of tune over the years, but over 500bhp is its sweet spot. For the Defender, JLR has plumped for a pretty conservative 518bhp and given the chassis a bit of a once-over to help the Defender cope with the power upgrade.

So there are new anti-roll bars to help keep the body a bit more tied down, the suspension has been recalibrated and there’s an electronic limited slip differential and torque vectoring by braking. Add 20-inch wheels, a couple of subtle V8 badges, some suede-like stuff for the interior plus blue brake callipers and that’s pretty much it.

The V8 comes in short-wheelbase 90 and 110 long-wheelbase forms, but for some reason the 90 suits the engine better – perhaps it’s the hot rod-like character.

Within a few metres and even at near-walking pace, you can tell this V8 is more than just a Defender with a big engine under the bonnet. The steering immediately feels sharper, no doubt helped by the massive 22-inch wheels and lower profile rubber.

By gum it’s quick. While the old 5.0-litre V8 does come in more powerful tunes, 518bhp in a tall and short 4×4 is an awful lot. Squeeze the throttle and the blocky retro body sits back on its rear axle, and it really does fire down the road. Exit a corner and you can feel that electronic diff doing its best to keep the car controlled, although if you hit a bump or an imperfection in the road there’s a pogo-stick-like bounce. It’s hysterically good fun.

While there wasn’t a chance to try out the V8 off road, there were plenty of times when a slower pace was needed between shoot locations. Just like other more ‘normal’ Defenders, there’s a familiar cosseting feel that all modern Land Rovers have. And with big squishy seats and a now-excellent infotainment system (previous JLR systems have been less than brilliant), it’s a very special car to drive.

With prices starting from £100,890, it overlaps into the new Range Rover’s territory, but in perfect Land Rover fashion it offers something so wonderfully different to the super-smooth and super-posh flagship. The Defender V8 is ludicrous, unnecessary, hilarious and utterly fabulous.

• Model as tested: Land Rover Defender V8
• Price: £100,890
• Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
• Power: 518bhp
• Torque: 625Nm
• Max speed: 145mph
• 0-60mph: 4.7 seconds
• MPG: 19.2
• Emissions: 330g/km CO2