Introduced in 2024, the Defender Octa was designed to elevate the “standard” Defender to new heights, with the new pinnacle model in Land Rover’s Defender lineup sporting a 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 petrol engine, trick suspension and a host of additional upgrades to make it a venerable off-road-performance-focused SUV.
Thanks to its peak system outputs of 467 kW and 750 N.m – the latter lifted to 800 N.m when engaging Dynamic Launch Mode – the British marque says the apex Defender completes the 0-100 km/h sprint in just 4.0 seconds, an impressive feat considering this model tipped our scales at 2 578 kg, distributed 52:48 front to rear. But how would it fare on our standardised test strip?
2025 Land Rover Defender Octa Acceleration
On our test strip, the Octa – tested in sold-out Edition One guise – blasted to 100 km/h from a standstill in 4.59 seconds, before it covered the quarter mile 8.08 seconds later, with a time of 12.67 seconds. However, we were curious how the range-topping Defender would fare in the former and latter tests on gravel. In the latter setting, our trusty RaceLogic Vbox recorded 0-100 km/h and quarter-mile times of 5.08 and 13.81 seconds, respectively.
In the overtaking acceleration stakes, on our test strip the Octa sprinted between the 80-120 km/h and 100-140 km/h increments in 2.56 and 3.18 seconds, respectively.
Road Test Figures: 2025 Land Rover Defender Octa
Image: CAR Magazine
Posted September 25, 2025
By: Marius Boonzaier
Positioned as the pinnacle model in Land Rover’s Defender lineup, we’ve strapped our RaceLogic Vbox to the Octa to find out how it fares in our stringent test regimen.
Introduced in 2024, the Defender Octa was designed to elevate the “standard” Defender to new heights, with the new pinnacle model in Land Rover’s Defender lineup sporting a 4.4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 petrol engine, trick suspension and a host of additional upgrades to make it a venerable off-road-performance-focused SUV.
Thanks to its peak system outputs of 467 kW and 750 N.m – the latter lifted to 800 N.m when engaging Dynamic Launch Mode – the British marque says the apex Defender completes the 0-100 km/h sprint in just 4.0 seconds, an impressive feat considering this model tipped our scales at 2 578 kg, distributed 52:48 front to rear. But how would it fare on our standardised test strip?
2025 Land Rover Defender Octa Acceleration
On our test strip, the Octa – tested in sold-out Edition One guise – blasted to 100 km/h from a standstill in 4.59 seconds, before it covered the quarter mile 8.08 seconds later, with a time of 12.67 seconds. However, we were curious how the range-topping Defender would fare in the former and latter tests on gravel. In the latter setting, our trusty RaceLogic Vbox recorded 0-100 km/h and quarter-mile times of 5.08 and 13.81 seconds, respectively.
In the overtaking acceleration stakes, on our test strip the Octa sprinted between the 80-120 km/h and 100-140 km/h increments in 2.56 and 3.18 seconds, respectively.
2025 Land Rover Defender Octa Braking Times
In our 10-stop 100-0 km/h emergency braking regimen, the Octa recorded best and worst stopping times of 2.80 and 3.31 seconds, respectively. The Octa’s 400 mm front/365 mm rear ventilated brakes brought it to a halt in an average time of 3.00 seconds.
2025 Land Rover Defender Octa Specifications
- Price: R3 663 600
- Powertrain: 4.4-litre, V8, twinturbo-petrol
- Transmission: 8-speed automatic
- Driven wheels: all
- Power: 467 kW @ 5 900 r/min
- Torque: 750 N.m @ 1 800-5 900 r/min
- 0-100 km/h: 4.59 seconds (tested)
- Top speed: 210 km/h (claimed, with 20-inch wheels; 250 km/h, claimed, with 22-inch wheels)
- Fuel consumption: 13.5 L/100 km (claimed)
- CO2 emissions: 298 g/km (claimed)
