It has been extremely hot across Europe in the last two weeks or so and this has made Germany’s Nurburgring the preferred location for hot weather testing in the automotive industry. It might seem a little surprising to see a big off-roader like the Land Rover Defender around the track, but any new vehicle needs to be paced before it’s ready to hit the production line. More importantly, it’s the SVX prototype, which will reportedly be more powerful and more performance-oriented than any other Defender variant to date.
British companies put camouflage on almost all vehicles. The front fascia is heavily camouflaged, hinting at new settings for the bumpers and air openings. Camouflage foil can’t hide the extended wheel arches, as well as the round fat exhaust pipes at the rear – there are four of them, hinting at the V8 power under the hood.
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The eight-cylinder engine in question is believed to be derived from BMW’s 4.4-liter twin-turbo, which will replace the supercharged 5.0-liter V8. In the X5 M Competition, the 4.4 V8 motor from Munich produces 617 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque, and similar figures are expected for the British off-roader. However, Land Rover may not be allowed to use its full potential.
As a reminder, you can already buy the V8-powered Defender in the United States. The V8 Defender with its 5.0-liter supercharged engine produces 493 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque. Acceleration from 0 to 62 miles per hour (0-100 kilometers per hour) takes 5.7 seconds, which presumably means the hotter SVX model should shave a tenth of a second in this discipline.
No debut date has been announced for the hotter Defender V8 yet. Land Rover may be able to wait and release it as a 2024 model, though development appears to be in an advanced stage. The largest and most powerful Defender 2023 in the United States right now is the Defender 130 V8, which has eight seats and prices start at $116,600. The SVX variant will probably be more expensive.
