Land Rover Defender Octa Edition One

Perhaps owing to the absence of roaring Jaguar products, Land Rover has well and truly turned up the wick on its capable Defender package

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Introduced in 2020 as the spiritual successor to the long-serving original Land Rover Defender, the current, L663-generation car, with its retro-inspired exterior styling, has steadily gone about its business, finding favour with fans of its boxy forebear, while establishing a new core group of enthusiasts across many markets, including South Africa.

Designed and developed at the brand's Gaydon headquarters, the new flagship Defender Octa - named after the eight sides of an otherwise extremely tough diamond - has been engineered to combine the best of this product's off-roading prowess with newfound levels of on-the-move performance and dexterity. Land Rover's plans to enter three examples into the 2026 Dakar Rally hint at the brand's ambition for this special project.

Featuring bespoke bumper designs, the Octa's enhanced sense of presence compared with its standard stablemates is aided by 68 mm wider track widths, a 28 mm taller default ride height, and standard 20-inch alloy wheels, which can be upgraded to the unique-looking, diamond-turned, satin dark tint items fitted to this test unit. Owners then have the option to introduce a set of specially developed 33-inch Goodyear Advanced All-Terrain tyres - the spare of which is displayed proudly on the vehicle's tailgate.