The Land Rover Defender V8 is already a reality, but who is it going up against?

Land Rover surprised the world a year ago with the arrival of the Land Rover Defender, an off-roader that, after staying true to certain principles, was modernised. Many loved it, a few others disliked it, but what we are sure of is that the Defender leaves no one indifferent. With all this in mind, the English firm decided to tighten the bolts a little more on its 4×4 excellence and create the V8 version, which boasts performance that brings the Defender closer to the territory of sporty SUVs.

If we take a moment to look at the market, we will notice that this segment is becoming increasingly crowded. With this in mind, however attractive the proposal from Land Rover may be, we find that it is not alone, and that it has several rivals ready to make things difficult for it.

Mercedes-AMG G 63

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class has been the benchmark rival of the Land Rover Defender since the beginnings of both models. It is therefore to be expected that the AMG variant of the German 4×4 will also take on the Defender V8.

And we must not forget that the Mercedes-AMG G 63 uses a powerful 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 that produces 585 CV and 850 Nm of torque, figures that guarantee a 0 to 100 time of an impressive 4.5 seconds and a top speed limited to 220 km/h.

Range Rover Sport SVR

And sometimes we must not forget that the danger is also close to home. That is right: the Range Rover Sport SVR is a sibling of the Defender, but its similarities and family ties can give the newcomer a difficult time.

The SVR may not be as capable on adverse terrain as the Defender V8, but when it comes to performance the two are very evenly matched. The Range Rover Sport shares the same engine as the Defender V8, except that on this occasion it develops 575 CV and 700 Nm of torque instead of 525 CV and 625 Nm.

BMW X5 M50i

Once again we come across a case in which the differences in off-road capability are significant. However, its level of performance is close enough to consider the BMW X5 M50i a very direct rival to the Defender V8.

At the heart of this SUV lies a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 that produces 530 CV and 750 Nm of torque, figures that allow the 0 to 100 sprint to take 4.3 seconds and a top speed of 250 km/h.