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Diamond in the rough: Taking the Land Rover Defender Octa for a spin
By Rory FH Smith | 8 January 2026 | Cars & Yachts, Motoring
70 years after the first Far Eastern Expedition, we put the new Land Rover Defender Octa to the test
One can only assume there must have been a few drinks involved when six Oxford and Cambridge students first dreamt up the audacious Far Eastern Expedition in 1955. The 18,000-mile adventure through Europe, the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia would see two identical, early Series 1 Land Rovers and their six plucky occupants set off from Hyde Park in London and arrive in Singapore six months and six days later. While the expedition had previously been considered impossible, the students proved it could be done and, perhaps more importantly, cemented Land Rover’s reputation as a rugged and seemingly unstoppable force over land.
Since then, the Land Rover’s repository of off-road accolades has grown substantially, with the much-loved British vehicle providing the backbone for expeditions across vast and often uncharted swathes of the world. When the Land Rover range expanded beyond the original series models, so did the scope for adventure, giving rise to competitions such as the Camel Trophy which ran from 1980-2000 and was dubbed the “Olympics of 4×4” as teams battled it out in their Land Rovers through jungles, mountains and swamps.
The Land Rover G4 Challenge continued to up the ante from 2003 to 2008, by combining off-road driving with outdoor sports. Now, in 2025, I’m about to take part in the latest chapter in Land Rover’s voluminous book of adventures, driving its latest model, the Land Rover Defender Octa, 500 miles on and off road through the South African bush.
A DIFFERENT BEAST
While its cryptic name might conjure up images of covert operations, the Octa moniker is actually derived from the eight-sides of a diamond – one of the hardest and most desirable minerals on earth. Think tough yet luxurious and you’re pretty much on the money when it comes to the most performance-focused – and expensive – Defender yet. With the launch vehicle, Edition One, priced at £160,800, and the “regular” Octa valued at £145,300, it’s not for the faint-hearted.
On first approach, it doesn’t look too different from its Land Rover Defender siblings, but don’t be fooled by its subtly enhanced looks: the Octa is a different beast from any Defender that went before it.
On closer inspection, it is 68mm wider than the “standard” Defender, 28mm taller and a whole lot tougher. The blistered wheel arches, functional rims, deeper grille and flecks of chopped carbon fibre hint at the Octa’s real party piece buried deep inside the bodywork – a BMW-derived 4.4-litre twin turbo V8 that produces 626bhp. On paper, it’s enough to propel the two-and-a-half tonne Octa to 62mph from standstill in just 3.8-seconds and onto a limited top speed of 155mph. In the South African bush, these figures are really brought to life.
Our adventure starts in glorious Cape Town, which appears to be the spiritual home of Land Rovers past and present. Here, the sheltered and sun-drenched streets around the V&A Waterfront are awash with beaten up old Defenders, carrying battle scars from previous expeditions into the bush. My spotless Octa looks a little out of place by comparison but all that’s about to change.
After making a swift exit from Cape Town, it’s not long until were exposed to the wide, open expanse leading up to the Cederberg Mountains, north of the legislative capital. Like a blend of the Scottish Highlands, the towering mountains of the Alps and the orange, rocky outcrops of US states like Colorado and Utah, the landscape is mesmerising but punishing on the Defender’s underpinnings.
Thankfully, the Octa comes equipped with a “trick” 6D suspension system, the same one found on the latest Range Rover Sport SV. Soaking up the spine-shattering lumps and bumps of the potholed dirt tracks that weave their way up through the red rock of the Matjiesrivier Nature Reserve, we glide along with all four wheels firmly planted on the ground for maximum traction, while everything remains calm, cool and comfortable in the cabin.
PACE AND PERFORMANCE
Far from civilisation, there’s no shortage of dead straight stretches of dirt track and roughly paved roads on which to test the Octa’s performance credentials. Off the line, the Octa is by all means a fast car but it’s one step removed from the frankly bonkers way cars like the Mercedes-AMG G 63 or Aston Martin DBX 707 deliver pace. It’s more refined and grown-up and, crucially, more intelligent in the way it drives. The Octa hammers over rough ground and holds its own around bends at breakneck speed like no other car could, despite loose surfaces, rocks and ruts.
It’s remarkably capable and comfortable, particularly when equipped with a chunky set of tyres. Its ability to accept hard knocks and shocks is unrivalled and it has the pace and performance of a high-riding rally car but with many of the creature comforts you’d expect to find on its Range Rover cousin.
After a long and hard day’s driving, we arrive at the Bushman’s Kloof retreat, an oasis set amid the wilderness, 20 miles southeast of the town of Clanwilliam on South Africa’s western flank. Here, everything from kudu (African antelopes) to Cape Mountain Zebras, ostriches and wildcats roam around the collection of charming, colonial-style villas. Despite spending all day dashing over terrain that would typically shake the screws out of most vehicles, the Octa is unfazed, albeit covered in a thick layer of the South African bush.
While the Octa’s ancestors might have tackled far greater distances than my adventure up the western side of South Africa, they did so at a fraction of the speed and comfort. Sure, today’s regular Defender could complete the same journey, but it wouldn’t be as comfortable nor as capable as its souped-up sibling. And while the top-end Octa is a good £100,000 more than the car on which it’s based, it is a rare and hugely fun example of a practical, high-riding sports car that can go anywhere and do anything. In a world where we’ve reached peak performance on the road, perhaps it’s time more carmakers channelled their inner Octa and opted for the road less travelled to have some fun.