G o to YouTube and you'll find videos of Land Rover test drivers hooning prototype Defenders around the Nürburgring. It's wild to see a boxy SUV on knobby all-terrain tires squea

With 626 hp, the Octa is the most powerful Defender ever, but it is also the most capable. To understand the auto industry, always follow the money. When the current Land Rover Defender launched for 2020 it was targeting those in search of rugged,

The Land Rover Defender OCTA is transforming the world of off-road performance, setting a new standard for durability, power, and capability in the most

What’s this? The Land Rover Defender Octa’s mission statement is simple: to be the world’s fastest off-roader. But how do you define that? A Nürburgring lap time is only going to tell part of the story,

But Land Rover will point out that the Defender is eco-friendly in other ways. There’s a figure banding about that 75% of all Land Rovers ever made are still on the road, and most Defender buyers want them for their abilities. Think of it as a commercial vehicle rather than an SUV and it doesn’t look too bad.

The Land Rover Defender's cabin was already on the rugged side of stylish, so the high-performance Octa doesn't really change the formula. Instead of going properly garish, as many high-value cabins are wont to do,

It’s the most extreme Defender yet and also the best, with a character that marks it out as both unique and unexpected thrill to drive.

The Octa is a phenomenally capable 4x4, and for Land Rover to have executed it by extending the already fathoms-wide breadth of the Defender’s capability, rather than narrowing or focusing it, is a very rare and singular tribute to the talents and determination of its engineers.