The New Land Rover Defender V8 Will Cost Nearly $100,000
Land Rover, bless its heart, is putting a supercharged 518-hp 5.0-liter V-8 in the Defender, and it's not going to be cheap. The company sent us pricing today for the 2022 Defender, and the Defender 90 V8 will start at $98,550 including a $1350 destination charge. That's $13,700 more than a fully loaded six-cylinder model, and more than double the base four-cylinder Defender.
The top-trim Defender 90 V8 Carpathian Edition will cost $105,350, while the four-door Defender 110 V8 starts at $101,750 with the 110 Carpathian Edition ringing in at $108,550. This is, of course, a lot of money. If you want a cheaper V-8-powered Land Rover product, the Range Rover Sport HSE Dynamic is $10,000 less than a Defender 90 V8. Which is sort of hard to fathom.
That said, the Defender V8 is a compelling package. The old 5.0-liter V-8 is a raucous charmer, and it'll make the Defender a seriously quick car. Plus, Land Rover promises improved handling from the Defender V8 with no real sacrifice to the truck's impressive off-road capability. And there's a drift mode.
Still, it's hard to justify a Defender V8 when the 400-hp straight-six offered in lesser models is more than powerful enough for a big off-roader. Despite that, a Land Rover spokesperson tells us the company expects that a third of U.S. Defender sales to be of V-8 models, so this car should be a nice money-maker.
There are a few ways of looking at the Defender V8. It's more expensive than the limited-production Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392, but even a Defender 110 V8 Carpathain Edition is around $23,000 cheaper than a Mercedes G550. And maybe it's a waste of time to justify a car like the Defender V8. It's sort of pointless, and that's the fun of it. You don't need this, but you almost assuredly want this. It'll just cost a lot.
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