India has welcomed a new super-SUV today in the form of the Land Rover Defender Octa, which has been introduced at a starting price of Rs 2.59 crore. The Octa sits at the apex of the wide-ranging Defender family, as it is the performance-focused derivative of the SUV, and is available only in the five-door ‘110’ body style. The Octa, in its first year of production, will also be available in ‘Edition One’ guise, which gets a few more niceties and is priced at Rs 2.79 crore (all prices, ex-showroom). Since bookings were opened in July last year, the initial batch of the Defender Octa is sold out, so customers who book now may have to face a long waiting period.
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Central to the Defender Octa is its engine. The Octa is powered by a 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine with a mild-hybrid system, sourced from BMW, which puts out a colossal 626 bhp and 750 Nm of torque (800 Nm in Dynamic Launch mode), making this the most powerful Defender on sale. It can accelerate from 0 to 100 kmph in a claimed four seconds, which is the quickest in the Defender family, and notable for an SUV that weighs 2.5 tonnes.
The Defender Octa features several unique styling elements over the regular Defender. These include wider wheel arches, a redesigned grille for better airflow, a new rear bumper with a four-exit active exhaust system, and enhanced underbody protection with an aluminium alloy front shield. The SUV is also equipped with the largest tyres ever fitted to a production Defender.
The Edition One variant will only be available in the first year of production.
The Edition One variant comes with a special Faroe Green paint and carbon fibre accents. Inside, it maintains the same layout as the standard Defender, but features ‘performance’ seats in the front, which are available in leather or two fabric options. The seats are claimed to be 30 per cent lighter than leather.
The Defender Octa also features mechanical upgrades, including the 6D Dynamics suspension, which employs continuously variable semi‑active dampers to minimise pitch and body roll, while also enabling greater wheel articulation in off-road settings. Other updates include 400 mm disc brakes with Brembo calipers, stronger wishbones, and a revised steering ratio. Ground clearance has been increased by 28 mm, and its water-wading capacity has also been enhanced to one metre – 100 mm deeper than any other Defender. The vehicle comes with an off-road-focused Octa drive mode, which enables off-road launch control.
The Defender Octa’s rival-in-chief is the Mercedes-AMG G63, which is priced much higher, at Rs 3.64 crore (ex-showroom).
