Octa adds an injection of pace, and all-terrain grace, to the already formidable Defender writes Gareth Dean after familiarising himself with the creation in the UK.
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- Price: R3 499 100
- Engine: 4.4-litre, V8, twin-turbo petrol + mild hybrid
- Transmission: 8-speed automatic
- Power: 450 kW @ 5855-7 000 r/min
- Torque: 750 N.m @ 1800-5 855 r/min
- 0-100 km/h: 4.0 seconds
- Top speed: 240 km/h (wheel/tyre dependent)
- Fuel consumption: 13.5 L/100 km
- CO2: 305 g/km
- Rivals: Mercedes-AMG G63, not much else
Attending a first-drive event where you won’t actually get behind the wheel of the car in question is always somewhat bizarre. Without a direct handle on such share-worthy, tactile insights as how the steering squirms in your hand when the limits of grip are being challenged, the interplay between engine and transmission, or whether it’s relaxing to pilot on a motorway; you’ve got your work cut out trying to convey your experience to readers…especially when that experience is taking place in the most powerful production-series Land Rover Defender to date. But here I am, sitting alongside a purpose-built off-road circuit in Hampshire’s New Forest, waiting for a shotgun ride in the Defender 110 Octa.
This model’s nameplate alludes to the car’s parallels with an octahedral diamond, being both one of the hardest and most sought-after minerals on the planet. As the recipient of numerous updates from Land Rover’s in-house performance arm, Special Vehicle Operations (SVO), the Octa is the most dynamically focused iteration of Land Rover’s hard-as-nails SUV, combining previously unheard-of (by Defender standards) levels of on-road agility and comfort with the terrain-conquering ability for which the model is so well known.
There’s a chuckle from SVO division director, Jamal Hameedi, when I quip that it’s a proviso roughly echoing that of Ford’s Raptor-enhanced products. It turns out that prior to his move to the Solihull marque, Hameedi had spent 27 years at Ford, during which time he headed up the development of a certain off-road performance version for the F150 truck…called the Raptor. “Given the developments required in getting the best out of components such as the chassis, suspension and powertrain, it was good practice for what was to come with Octa,” said Hameedi.
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In addition to tuning its BMW-sourced 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol engine to produce a stump-pulling 450 kW and 750 N.m of torque on tap SVO has worked extensively on the Octa’s underpinnings. Along with modifications to such handling-related parameters as the steering setup (quicker ratio) and 400 mm front brakes with Brembo callipers, SVO has revised the suspension geometry and strengthened many of its components, as well as utilising a model-specific take on Land Rover’s 6D suspension with new active dampers incorporating separate accumulators. Comprising four diagonally interconnected dampers joined by 25 metres of pipework, this system assesses surface conditions and individually firms or softens the dampers at each corner according to requirements: dispensing with anti-roll bars while still affording the car impressive levels of axle articulation.
The Octa’s drivetrain management system features two additional modes: Dynamic, which tunes the suspension and drivetrain for more aggressive on-road use, and OCTA, which not only incorporates a loose-surface launch control module but also adopts a rear-biased drive setup and tailors the dampers and ABS for fast-paced off-road use. This model can also be specified with a choice of three wheel/tyre combinations, including 22-inch rims fitted with Goodyear All-Terrain tyres.
While an actual drive is always the best way to assess a new car, having the knowledge of someone like Technical Specialist Vehicle Dynamics Integration at Jaguar Land Rover, Rob Patching was just as handy.
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The first obstacle is a particularly unfriendly-looking mount of rock and tree roots jutting out of the forest floor. Engaging low-range and rock-crawl mode, Patching explains that 6D Dynamics’ ability to completely de-couple the roll-bars at low speed significantly improves axle articulation. The system assesses surface conditions every 40 milliseconds: changing the damping and coupling accordingly. Of just as much importance as the off-road ability, is the comfort associated with the even distribution of individual damping, as opposed to the head-joggling cross-body forces that often accompany technical off-roading. Patching further explained that by raising the Octa’s standard ride height by around 30 mm, there’s less dependence on the loftier off-road air suspension setting, which further improves ride comfort when traversing tricky obstacles and the like.
Having negotiated some serious ruts and climbs, Patching then stops the car on a flatter section of dirt and engages the car’s more performance-oriented Octa mode with a long press of the steering wheel-mounted button. With his foot on the brake and a burst of throttle, launch control is activated, before he lifts off the anchors. The expected tyre scrabble is all but absent, and the Octa surges forward on a big wave of low-end torque and a satisfying growl from the twin-turbo V8. Despite this astonishing burst of speed, the experience is an oddly paradoxical. Outside, the scenery rushes past in a blur of greenery and menacing tree trunks, but the rough surfaces over which we’re flying barely translate into anything other than some mild jiggling in the cabin.
The rapid approach of some sizeable jumps has me bracing for a jarring landing that simply doesn’t materialise; the damping and control on show here is genuinely impressive. I also notice that despite the rapid succession of turns Patching is tackling, he’s not exactly sawing wildly at the wheel. He explains that in Octa mode, the steering retains quick gearing and a lighter weighting – as opposed to the heavier off-road setup – that’s more conducive to faster inputs and responsiveness. Even from my passenger pew, it’s deeply impressive stuff, especially when Patching claims that, in its full-attack mode, the Octa’s chassis stiffness and body control rivals that of the Range Rover Sport SV!
There will no doubt be some who’ll wonder whether a model like the Octa – especially given its lofty asking price – is asking a question that most would never pose of a Defender. It’s a fair point; the standard models’ ability to perform comfortably on-road and impressively off it, is sufficient by most folks’ standards. But with the abilities and character of our cars now increasingly being shaped by budgets and sensibilities such as emissions and fuel efficiency, models such as Octa; that answer the question “why?” with a resounding “why not?”, should still have a place in the automotive landscape.
Find the full feature in the October 2024 issue of CAR Magazine.