SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
Cape Town, South Africa — Last summer, the Jaguar Land Rover concern introduced the most extreme version of its new Defender ever—the mysteriously-named OCTA. It’s a 626-horsepower SUV with trick hydraulic suspension and an all-terrain launch control system, so naturally it piqued our curiosity.
Unlike other models in Land Rover’s history — which all possess some serious off-road readiness — the Defender OCTA isn’t just built to go off-road, it’s built to go off-road fast. The company intends to prove it, using the OCTA as the basis for the brand’s entry into the notorious Dakar Rally starting in 2026. The goal is to prove that a luxury vehicle you can purchase at your local Jaguar Land Rover retailer has the goods to take on the world’s toughest off-road rally and emerge victorious.
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
Before that, however, it’s our turn to drive the OCTA. On a closed off-road course in a wilderness reserve about 250 kilometres north of Cape Town, in the foothills of the Cederberg Mountains, a Defender OCTA Edition One is waiting for us. It looks like it means business, given the exclusive Faroe Green paint treatment and Chopped Carbon Fibre detailing.
All of the straight-ish sections of the off-road course are covered in sand, which makes the tail end of the Defender dance back and forth. Acceleration here is immense; the engine pulls strongly from anywhere in the rev range.
We should talk about the engine because it’s beauty, a twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre mild-hybrid V8 sourced from BMW. In addition to its 626 horsepower, this engine cranks out 553 lb-ft of torque. A diamond-shaped button on the steering wheel for OCTA mode allows drivers to access its full potential.
Pressing the button unleashes its raw mechanical fury, not to mention a raft of unique technology, including an off-road launch control system that sees the OCTA simply dig in and rocket away. Once the wheels are in motion, the traction control algorithm in OCTA mode provides the least amount of intervention, so the most amount of fishtailing. Similarly, the ABS system in this mode allows the wheels to lock more easily, which allows for piles of gravel, sand and dirt to build up in front of the wheels and shorten braking distances.
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
All that power can get you into trouble entering corners with deeper sand; barreling in with too much speed sees the front end wash away and the revs drop right off.
You see, driving at speed on loose surfaces requires equal parts aggression and patience. When the front wheels are pointed straight, the key is to gun it, even over jumps and bumps. If you end up carrying excess speed, the OCTA has 400-milimetre front brake discs and six opposed Brembo calipers to haul you back down to Earth.
Of course, the tires need to be touching terra firma in order for the brakes to exert their influence. There are two massive ditches in the course, both marked by double-caution signs; these require shedding speed in advance in a big hurry.
In these sections, it’s not the engine playing the starring role, it’s the aluminum skid plate, the increased ride height (+28 mm over a regular Defender 110), wider track (+68 mm) as well as the magical 6D Dynamics suspension system. All of these attributes work together to ensure the tires stay in contact with the ground and set the OCTA up to rocket off into the distance again.
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
SHARP Drives: The 2025 Land Rover OCTA is an Extreme Machine
The course is not especially wide-open, so we never get close to the listed top speed of 191 km/h on the Goodyear Wrangler all-terrain tires we’re riding on. (There are three different sets of tires available for the OCTA; the all-season numbers allow for a top speed of 250 km/h.) After experiencing the SUV’s sheer speed, composure and traction, we have no doubt it could hit those speeds.
Rocketing off into the distance is really what the Land Rover Defender OCTA does best, in a cloud of dust, heavily treaded tires shooting rocks every which way but loose, V8 roaring like a lion. It’s an incredible machine, really, a high-performance off-roader that’s enjoyable to drive over long distances and luxurious and refined enough for daily driving duty.
The final specifications for the race-ready Defender are still being decided, but the OCTA we drove is a great starting point.
Prices for the 2025 Land Rover Defender OCTA start at $175,000. The Edition One, which clocked in at $191,000, is already sold out around the world.
