More versions of the Land Rover Defender keep hitting the block, but this one spied testing in the Arctic Circle may be the best of the bunch. We don’t have an official name from Land Rover yet – rumors suggest the SVX – but from these photos, the idea looks similar to the Bronco Raptor or Wrangler 392.
The formula on display here should elicit a big off-road grin. This camouflaged Defender is clearly rocking a V8 engine with its quad exhaust pipes, but it’s the massive fender flares, lift height and chunky tires that have our attention. Unlike the more stable looking Defender 110, this Defender looks to be designed for more off-road duty. A wider track and upgraded off-road suspension push those wheels out and fill in the big fender flares—it’s not quite Bronco Raptor level unpleasantness, but this Defender is wider than usual.
The tires filling those slots are the impressive BF Goodrich All-Terrain tires. Land Rover didn’t go so far as to fit the distinctively smaller wheels to this more extreme model—they’re still 20-inch wheels—but the rubber protecting those off-road styled wheels will be better than any stock option. More suited to the trail than the . Today.
When Land Rover launches this mega-Defender, expect it to be the most expensive of the bunch due to it being powered by a V8. A 2023 Land Rover Defender V8 will run you $112,775 today, and that’s before options. In that case, maybe think of this Defender as more of a Mercedes-Benz G550 alternative than Bronco Raptor rival. We will be eagerly waiting for its disclosure.
Related Video: