This post was originally published on Autocar
Gaydon goes very large indeed on both performance and 4×4 capability for its very first ultimate Defender
How does one begin to succintly define a vehicle as multi-faceted as Land Rover’s Defender Octa?One thing’s certain: the process takes you down numerous paths. Is the 626bhp Octa the most ambitious product the company has launched since the original Range Rover? In many ways, from engineering to sales, yes, it absolutely is. No Land Rover has ever been conceived with such scope in respect to its all-terrain ability and drivability. Or price.Could the Octa also be said to have a genetic make-up achievable by blending DNA from the sensational BMW M5 CS with one of McLaren’s supercars and a T1+ Dakar rally-raider, of the sort you’ll have seen competing in the Dakar Rally? Incredible as it sounds, that isn’t far from the truth.More broadly, is this carbon-adorned Defender for everyday use, family trips away or weekends doing specialised off-road activities? Incredibly, hardware suggest it’s all three.As for what it is not? At £148,000 even before you get to the limited-release Edition 1 car tested here, the Octa is not an inexpensive car. In terms of price, in the broader Defender line-up it is very much positioned as the Porsche 911 GT3 RS or Lamborghini Huracán STO and is aimed at a similar clientele.Neither is this car going to be free from quirks in normal driving. One reason why the Octa can happily fire itself down dusty back roads at frightening speeds is because of its new suspension, which makes for tracks 68mm wider than those on the standard and hardly slimline Defender. No matter how expert the chassis tuning, the Octa will need handling with care in a way something humdrum like, say, a Porsche Cayenne Turbo wouldn’t.Which brings us to one last point on the subject of what the Octa is and is not. Is it necessary? Unless you see yourself needing to escape from the bad guys by travelling at speed over rough and varied terrain, and you need to do it in comfort and a reasonable level of luxury, then no, of course this car isn’t necessary. And we dare say it will be easier to find chances to explore the full potential of the aforementioned supercars at track days than it will this extra-special Defender, unless you happen to own half the county.But when did necessity concern cars made with imagination? And it’s this, above all else, that most neatly defines the Defender Octa.