First Drive: Land Rover’s reborn Works V8 Defender is unashamedly old-school… and rather endearing
Land Rover may have stopped building the Defender as a series production model, but its classic Works division isn’t quite done yet. Tom Wiltshire gets behind the wheel during a brief interlude at the Geneva Motor Show
What is it?
What’s new?
What’s under the bonnet?
It’s mated to an eight-speed ZF gearbox, which once again feels totally inappropriate, and yet works remarkably well in this application with razor-sharp gearshifts.
The whole package is capable of shifting you along at a worrying pace with just the barest application of the throttle. It’s raw and totally intoxicating – slip the V8 Defender down into second gear and floor it and passers-by will likely look up to see if the sky’s started collapsing.
What’s it like to drive?
Everything requires manhandling, too. The wide brake pedal needs a serious shove, while the enormous (and airbagless) steering wheel fights you at every turn.
And yet as you hustle the old tractor down the road, you can’t help but smile. Take a slow in, fast out approach to corners and you can make the most of the engine’s massive power without suffering too many hairy moments.
Of course, where the Defender traditionally excels is off-road, and the Works model retains the low range gearbox and legendary four-wheel drive system, so it’s likely to be virtually unstoppable on the muddy stuff.
How does it look?
Land Rover Works hasn’t messed around with any of the Defender’s traditional design cues, so big, round headlights, square lines and exposed door hinges all remain. The Works cars do get a few additions, though, such as contrasting alloys, aluminium door handles and a black roof. There’s also a choice of eight different body colours – plus, any accessories made for standard Defenders will bolt straight on, giving you a whole world of customisation.
What’s it like inside?
Land Rover Works has at least gone some way to making the cabin feel a little more modern, though. There are Recaro sports seats, leather trim on the dashboard, aluminium fixtures and fittings and a custom-made infotainment system nestled incongruously in the centre console. It’s certainly the best Defender interior that’s yet been produced, but even Land Rover’s Works division can’t get around the fundamental flaws of the original design.
What’s the spec like?
Building a car like this is expensive, which is why Land Rover charged its 150 lucky buyers £150,000 for them. Of course, a car like this isn’t in the same spirit as the original workhorse, and is far more likely to be mixing it with luxury vehicles around London’s richest boroughs than slumming it on a farm track. Still, the price stings, especially when you look at what the V8 Defender doesn’t have – an adjustable steering column, airbags, rollover protection, climate control, cruise control, dynamic dampers, independent suspension…
It does however feature the useful additions of bi-xenon headlamps, sat-nav, air-conditioning and easy-to-clean leather upholstery.
Verdict
Essentially, the V8 Defender is the answer to a question very few people were asking. It’s objectively a terrible car when viewed alongside vehicles such as the Bentley Bentayga, Range Rover Sport SVR or Audi SQ7 – but that’s not the point. It’s just a last hurrah for a British icon, and one that’s bowing out in considerable style.
