Land Rover Defender 110 SVX spied with extra off-road kit

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It appears the segment in which we find gonzo off-road variants of popular SUVs is set to grow by at least one this year. Spotted near the Arctic Circle, this Land Rover Defender 110 SVX test mule seems to be Coventry’s answer to rigs like the Bronco Raptor and Wrangler 392.

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Our boots on the ground didn’t hear this beast running, since it was being transported on a flat deck trailer, but we’d be very surprised if Land Rover doesn’t offer its burliest engine in a machine of this type. At present, that takes the form of a 518-horsepower supercharged V8, an octopot which makes all kinds of delightful noises and would be an excellent foil to Jeep’s roarty 6.4L Hemi. It’s worth noting that LR is also beginning to deploy a BMW-sourced 4.4L twin-turbo V8 in some other models, though there’s no official word if that 523-horse mill is slated for the Defender.

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Meaty tires live on each corner of this test truck, showing up as BFGoodrich off-roaders sized 275/60 on a 20-inch wheel. They aren’t as aggressive as a BFG KO2 but are leagues better in the tough stuff than the Continental CrossContacts which are usually fitted, one of which still resides on this car’s spare tire carrier. Delving deep into the weeds, these tires bear a date code ending in ‘21’, suggesting either LR has been working on this concept for some time or they obtained this set of BFGs which have been lying around for a while. We suspect it could be a bit of both.

Underneath we spy an air suspension, as expected, though it looks like there may be extra skid plates covering Expensive Bits underneath the engine. This is wise if Land Rover wants to market this to off-roaders (or at least to people in Beverly Hills who want the look). Euro-spec trailering kit is fitted, which is quite different from what’s used in North America.

And if you think the words ‘Land Rover’, ‘Bronco’, ‘Wrangler’ should never be uttered in the same sentence, we invite you to recall the latter two off-roaders can be had in burly trims which easily push their MSRPs well into six-figure territory. The new Bronco Raptor and Wrangler 392 (or, as a stretch, even a Rubicon with the Extreme Recon package) could easily keep up with this Defender on a trail, and would very likely be on the shopping lists of anyone with the means to buy this SVX.