A V8 engine in the Land Rover Defender?
November 18 2020,
The Defender is Land Rover's newest SUV. The return of this iconic name to the family has not gone unnoticed on all levels, even though the last rumor about it was that a V8 engine version was coming. Let's see what's being said.
The Defender has been talked about positively since its debut, firstly because of its truly distinctive and successful styling, but also because it was named SUV of the Year by the famous magazine Motor Trend. In fact, it's the one that mentions a possible V8 engine in the family.
90, 110 and 130
Currently, two versions of the Defender are available, models 90 and 110. The first one has a 101.9-inch wheelbase while the second one has a 118.9-inch wheelbase. At the time, it was simpler when the Defender had a 90 inch wheelbase, the 110 had a 110 inch wheelbase. Times are changing...
Under the hood of the latter, two engines can be found for the moment, a 2-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder and a 3-liter turbocharged in-line 6-cylinder. With 296 and 295 horsepower, respectively, they're not lacking in power.
However, as Motor Trend magazine reminds us, the American market likes V8s, and that's where the next version of the Defender, the 130, could well offer us this kind of powerplant.
Two V8 engines?
Rumor even has it that there are two V8 approaches. In fact, you have to qualify, because we're talking about the same V8 engine, the 5-liter block that can be found just about everywhere in the Jaguar/Land Rover product family. It's already configured in different ways, depending on the model it serves.
We could very well find the latter with a 518-horsepower cavalry, as it offers with the Autobiography version of the Range Rover, or with 557 horsepower, as is the case with the SVAutobiography Dynamic livery. More powerful variants have also been produced, including at 575 horsepower with other models of the brand, as well as at 600 horsepower with the Jaguar XE SV Project 8 a few years ago.
What's also interesting is that the V8 engine wouldn't be reserved only for the new 130 version, but also for the 90, which makes things interesting.
A compact “muscle” SUV coming soon at Land Rover? It would appear so.
