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V8 Limited Edition Defender to celebrate 70th Anniversary


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One of the funniest things about it is that when the Land-Rover first came out, its success was something of a problem for the old hands at Rover who assumed they would return to making fine cars for bank managers as they had before the war. That stop-gap noisy tin box would have been an embarrassment for them, and yet it saved the company - because they weren't otherwise capable of adapting to the post-war market. And yet, though it took a few decades, here they are again, without a foundation product and completely unready for the world's next catastrophe. The ineptitude is incredible, but the pig-headed stubbornness is pretty special, an unchanging feature of Britain's ruling class that must go back to when they could still see the glaciers retreating. 

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On 17/01/2018 at 12:00 PM, Maverik said:

Got to say I kinda like the look of that in red... and something interesting, that's not a standard defender steering box... and it looks like its on the outside of the chassis rail... still put those carp door hinges on it mind!

It's a P38 (and DII?) Bosch box.  I put one in my 109 a few years ago, a good deal better than the Adwest type from other Defenders and in my RRC.  Funny how the private owners did all the best mods before it occurred to LR - look at all the big engines that folk have fitted, the auto transmissions and uprated axle components.  Pound to a penny the axle parts come from Ashcroft...

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47 minutes ago, Snagger said:

It's a P38 (and DII?) Bosch box.  I put one in my 109 a few years ago, a good deal better than the Adwest type from other Defenders and in my RRC.  Funny how the private owners did all the best mods before it occurred to LR - look at all the big engines that folk have fitted, the auto transmissions and uprated axle components.  Pound to a penny the axle parts come from Ashcroft...

hahaha - yup I've been having some similar thoughts, that will be a nice wee money earner for them.

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On 1/17/2018 at 9:26 PM, Daan said:

Well, who would have thought it; a defender worth 6 figures. Keep hold of yours chaps, it could fund your retirement!

That steering box is from a P38 by the looks of it. I need to have a look at how they mounted it, as that is exactly what I am planning to do, I have one sitting in the garage already.

Oh, this is good: top speed is capped at 106mph.

My Polo Bluemotion betters that by a considerable amount (1.2 litre 3 pot diesel), so it really is all about the image, isn't it?

 

Daan

Having pushed an injected V8 110 up to an indicated 105MPH I never want to do it again. It was seriously scary, didn't know which side of the road it was going to fall off. I hope they have done lots of work on the suspension.

 

In the meantime, here is the video. 

 

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8 hours ago, neil110 said:

Having pushed an injected V8 110 up to an indicated 105MPH I never want to do it again. It was seriously scary, didn't know which side of the road it was going to fall off. I hope they have done lots of work on the suspension.

 

In the meantime, here is the video. 

 

Well, that's what's so funny about it - as people have found over the decades, with that much power you have basically have to turn your Defender into a stiffly-sprung car with a scary centre of gravity. So it's pointless in many ways. 

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Seem s strange to me how everyone is slating it. Lots of people round me have paid 70k for a 2.2 heap, at least this has got the guts to go somewhere.

Apart from the price which I only dislike because I can't afford one, and possible colour choices I think it's a right machine. 

 

By by the time you have bought the parts, built it and have some warranty kitty I can't see a lot of profit in it.

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I'm sure they have made zero profit.  But, they are hugely over priced versus the regular aftermarket.  You could happily pay someone 30k to install a new Chevy V8 and gearbox with the same amount of power, new suspension, Bowler brakes and leather seats.  150k is a bit over the top.

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".. sure they have made zero profit .."

Well, as JLR is in this world for making money I'm quite sure they got the sums right and are making a nice sum, thank you very much.

Overpriced ?

Well, the are being sold it seems so they got that right, too...

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This is a marketing exercise, so I doubt they were trying to make any money.  It would be really hard for an OEM to built something like that for the selling price.  It is good lead up to the new vehicle.  You can be assured it will have that same engine for an option, but you will be able to get it for half the price.  They will be able to tell you that it is such a great deal.

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On 01/04/2018 at 4:11 AM, Red90 said:

I'm sure they have made zero profit.  But, they are hugely over priced versus the regular aftermarket.  You could happily pay someone 30k to install a new Chevy V8 and gearbox with the same amount of power, new suspension, Bowler brakes and leather seats.  150k is a bit over the top.

Id much rather a LS3 than anything LR makes..... 

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On 29/03/2018 at 7:51 PM, Scotts90 said:

I watched the "Harry's Garage" video of it being briefly test driven in Geneva. Sounds lovely and it looks as though they've grafted a fair bit of suspension tech into the old girl.

https://youtu.be/RX6bMkLSmFo

Yes - he says they have got the DSC working on it . I was surprised - as at first I thought it was just an engine swap and a tart up.

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