After years of speculation, the biggest and baddest Defender variant is officially coming later in 2024: Defender OCTA. It will be the ultimate expression of Defender so far, with every component a superlative: the most power, the most advanced off-road systems, and the most luxury of any new Defender yet.
There have been spy shots of OCTAs running around places like Moab and the Nürburgring for about a year now, and until recently, they were tied to the theoretical marketing name "Defender SVX." The OCTA brand will set the tone for a new direction in marketing for the Defender sub-brand. It will be considered the new flagship Defender model, taking over a role previously held by the Defender X and then Defender V8 trim levels.
The OCTA looks like it's going to pull heavily from the Range Rover Sport SV's powertrain and suspension developments. This is the first Defender to feature the 4.4-liter BMW N63 twin-turbo V8 engine, which debuted in the Land Rover line with the current Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. Prior Defender V8s have utilized the venerable 5.0-liter supercharged AJ-V8, the current version of which has its roots in the 2010 Range Rover. Figures haven't been announced yet, but it's a safe bet that the BMW engine in the OCTA will benchmark around the Sport SV's 626 horsepower.
Another carryover from the SV is the 6D Dynamics air suspension, which reduces both pitch and roll at speed. While this suspension is tuned for the road on the Rangie, the OCTA may run a more off-road based tune. The primary technical competition for the Defender will be the high-speed off-road vehicles like the Ford Bronco Raptor, the AMG variants of the Mercedes G-Wagen, and whatever high-performance variants Jeep and Ram replace the outgoing Wrangler 392 and TRX with. All of these vehicles have suspensions tuned for high-speed, pre-runner style off-roading. While it's not clear what the OCTA is built for, the teaser photo has a camouflaged vehicle ripping down Gemini Bridges Road in Moab, Utah; presumably fast performance is a goal.
Though it hasn't been announced yet, teaser photos also show a button on the bottom of the steering wheel with the diamond-in-a-circle OCTA logo. The same button on the Sport activates "SV Mode," which drops the suspension, tightens gear changes, and tightens the electronic steering. On the OCTA, it's a safe bet that it'll perform a similar function but tuned as some form of off-road sport mode.
Some of the other OCTA rumors, like a wider track, haven't been technically confirmed by Land Rover yet, but are clear from the spy shots of test vehicles that have circulated the past few months. But what about if you want to get one?
Well, your local Land Rover retailer is already taking orders, so hurry up to get in line. There will also be a global series of "Defender Elements" events in the near future. What this consists of was left undefined in the Land Rover press release, so stay tuned for that too.
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