New Classic Land Rover Defender V8 revealed: teaching an old dog new tricks
August 28, 2024 by Jamie Edkins
Car changing is a big deal
You can now buy a bespoke, modernised version of the old Land Rover Defender, but it comes at quite a cost.
- New Land Rover Defender Classic by Works Bespoke revealed
- A re-imagined version of the old Defender
- Based on the 2012 to 2016 model
- Highly customisable – both inside and out
- New 5.0-litre V8 engine fitted
- Prices start from £190,000
This is the new Land Rover Defender Classic V8 by Works Bespoke, which is quite a mouthful of a name. Put simply, it’s an old Land Rover Defender which has been brought bang up to date.
Works Bespoke is a special division of Land Rover which will customise any part of this car to your exact taste – with the exception of the V8 engine – however it comes with a bonkers price tag of £190,000.
New Land Rover Defender Classic V8 design
As you’d expect, this car looks pretty much exactly the same as the old Land Rover Defender at first glance. However there are plenty of customisation options available from Works Bespoke.
You can choose between three-door ‘90’ or five-door ‘110’ body styles, and all donor vehicles come from between 2012 and 2016. There are an almost endless array of colours to choose from, whether you’re after something old school like pale green or something more vibrant like orange.
There are also a few different grille designs on offer, including a thin wire mesh option which mimics that of the very early Defender. A multitude of accessories are also available including side steps, roof racks, ladders and a winch.
You can get 16- or 18-inch alloy wheels, and all cars are fitted with LED headlights as standard. For venturing off-road in the dead of night you can also opt for roof-mounted spotlights or a full LED light bar.
New Land Rover Defender Classic V8 interior and infotainment
The interior of the old Land Rover Defender was pretty utilitarian, and not really befitting of a near-£200,000 price tag. Well thankfully Works Bespoke has overhauled it with plenty of posh materials, and it’s just as customisable as the exterior.
The seats, doors, dashboard and roof lining are all trimmed in soft leather, and there are 13 different colour combinations to choose from. For added support there’s the option of Recaro bucket seats as well.
Let’s talk about infotainment. When you compare this 3.5-inch touchscreen to the 15.0-inch systems you can get in standard family hatchbacks like the Volkswagen Golf, it doesn’t seem very impressive. It’s been designed to fit in the standard hole in the dashboard of the old Defender, and it still incorporates functions such as sat nav, bluetooth and DAB radio.
New Land Rover Classic V8 engine and performance
The only part of this Defender by Works Bespoke that you can’t change is the engine. All donor vehicles are fitted with a 5.0-litre naturally-aspirated V8 engine mated to a modern eight-speed automatic gearbox.
It puts out 405hp and 515Nm of torque, and 0-60mph is dealt with in 5.6 seconds. That makes it slightly quicker than a Volkswagen Golf GTI – not bad for a bulky off-roader like this.
New Land Rover Classic V8: how much is it?
Quite a lot. The Defender Classic V8 by Works Bespoke will set you back £190,000 in three-door form, rising to £199,000 if you want five doors and a longer body.
We had a play around with the Land Rover configurator to try and build the most expensive new Defender we could, and ended up at £120,000 for a 130 seven-seater with a lot of options ticked. You’ll have to be a pretty avid classic Defender fan to pay an extra £70,000 for this car.
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