Land Rover launches new Classic Defender V8

You have to wonder, given Land Rover’s years-long looting of Defenders produced between 2012 and 2016, precisely how deep the pool of suitable secondhand cars is for it to keep dipping into. Back in 2018, when it first came up with the idea of remaking old Defenders as ‘new’ Classic Works-issued V8s, the firm boasted about carefully sourcing the cream of a nearly-new crop. Now, six years later, it makes only passing reference to how the donor cars appear at the top of the funnel – and none at all about the condition they are in when they do. Probably it hardly matters when a box-fresh V8 and top-to-bottom ‘re-engineering’ beckons. Certainly, it has put off none of the people clamouring to buy one. 

Evidently, the vociferousness of this clamouring has not died down. The newly instituted (at the time) Classic Works division had already sold every example of its first limited run when they were revealed, and it seemed like the final curtain on the original Defender. But since then we’ve had a brace of homages to the Trophy cars, as well as something called the Islay Edition which cost from £230k for one of 30 models. The follow-up, officially unveiled today but making its public debut at Goodwood Revival next month, is called the Classic Defender V8 by Works Bespoke – and appears to jettison entirely the idea that it is a limited series concept. Land Rover simply describes it as ‘a unique new commissioning service’. 

The basic idea though is familiar enough. In return for a substantial amount of money (prices start at £190,000 for a 90, £199,000 for a five-seat 110 and £204,000 for a seven-seat – all before VAT) Land Rover will build you the ‘fully remastered’ Defender of your dreams – assuming those dreams included the installation of a naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V8 and a thoroughly modern eight-speed ZF automatic transmission. There is a new digital configurator to help you do this, although you can expect plenty of ‘personalised support’ from the Classic Works team in Coventry, and now, apparently, Essen in Germany, too. 

Needless to say, this process includes selecting virtually any colour you’d like, but there are also said to be a multitude of exterior details to choose from, including a Heritage, Standard or Adventure grille and a choice of 16-inch ‘Wolf’ wheels or the 18-inch ‘Sawtooth’ alloys that have typically marked out the Works V8 cars. You get LED headlights as a matter of course, although there’s nothing to stop you supplementing them with roof-mounted spotlights or even a full LED light bar. We haven’t seen many buyers go the whole hog in terms of off-road accessories, but if you absolutely must have an expedition cage or a roof rack or a winch, then those are available, too. 

Tellingly, Land Rover expects customers to lean in the other direction with the interior. It pretty much assumes you’re going to want ‘luxurious leather’ on the seats, side trim, doors, roof lining and dashboard, finished in one of five monotone or eight duotone options. There is a choice between ‘Premium’ seats or the much more supportive Recaro-made alternative. Naturally, you get the dinky, 3.5-inch Land Rover Classic Infotainment System touchscreen (which adds sat-nav and DAB radio) as standard – but for anyone really pushing the boat out, there is also the option of a Ply Guys Camper conversion if you want to add bespoke living quarters. 

The latter would likely impinge on the quoted 6.1-second-to-60mph performance Land Rover says you can expect from the 405hp V8 in the 110 (it’s 5.6 seconds in the 90) – but you’d probably have fun trying. Otherwise, the conversion work extends marrow-deep into the chassis, where you benefit from the Eibach coil springs, Bilstein dampers and uprated anti-roll bars that make up the established Suspension Upgrade Kit, not to mention the significantly chunkier four-piston Alcon brakes. Distant experience of the Works V8 suggests that the result will be suitably and singularly lovely (assuming you like old Defenders going in) although with Land Rover showing no sign of stopping, you’ll obviously need to make your peace with the idea that you won’t be the only person handing over a quarter of a million quid to own one. We’d expect a queue to form almost immediately.