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Pune: The Tata Motors-owned British luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover on Wednesday introduced the Land Rover Defender Octa SUV at a starting price of Rs 2.59 crore at pan India showroom.
The top-of-the-line Octa is the Defender’s most powerful and offroad-centric vehicle yet, and its closest rival is the Mercedes-AMG G63.
Land Rover is also selling the Defender Octa Editor One variant, which has an even greater off-road focus, for Rs 2.79 crore. However, the Edition One will only be available through the first year of production.
“Defender has been a game-changer for us in India, emerging as not only our best-selling model but also the highest-selling model in its category, with stupendous growth in demand since its launch,” said Rajan Amba, MD at JLR India.
“With the new Defender Octa, we are offering a vehicle that is not only capable of conquering the most challenging terrains but also delivering a premium driving experience,” he noted.
The Defender Octa SUV is based on the 5-door Defender 110 but has several unique design elements that make it stand out.
It has wider wheel arches, different front and rear bumpers, a unique grille, and quad exhausts.
Inside, the Octa is equipped with performance seats with integrated headrests. These are said to be 30 per cent lighter than standard leather seats. The Edition One comes in a special Faroe Green exterior paint with carbon fibre trim.
The Defender Octa is powered by a BMW-sourced 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 engine paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission and a mild-hybrid system. It delivers 626 BHP and up to 800 Nm of torque in Dynamic Launch mode, enabling the SUV to sprint from 0-100 km/h in 4 seconds.
The Defender Octa comes equipped with 6D Dynamics suspension and variable semi-active dampers.
Also, compared to the standard Defender, the Octa has a slightly taller ride height and thus has improved water-wading capability.
The SUV rides on 33-inch Goodyear Advance all-terrain tyres and is fitted with 400 mm disc brakes paired with Brembo calipers.
