Land Rover Defender.....I Did Not Know This........

N

Norm

Guest
Land Rover has a brand new generation Defender in the works and we are probably less than a year away from the moment when we will see the final product. However, enthusiasts around the world are still obsessed with the original off-roader but some of them fancy more power under the hood. This unleashes a whole new niche in the tuning scene and projects like Himalaya's Spectre 110 Crew Cab you see in the attached gallery below are not a rare sight nowadays.

Sure, it’s not the first V8-powered Defender out there and it’s not even the first Corvette-powered one. But the attention to detail here is taken to a new level, especially inside the cabin – there’s a completely new dashboard with new instrument cluster and Alpine touchscreen with Apple CarPlay connectivity, plus a set of Recaro leather seats. Nearly everything in the interior is wrapped in fine black leather and the back seats have a two-tone color combination.

But, of course, the most important upgrade over the humble original Defender is found under the hood. That’s where the stock four-cylinder motor has been replaced by a 6.3-liter V8 LS3 Corvette engine with 525 horsepower (391 kilowatts) and 495 pound-feet (671 Newton-meters) of torque. It’s mated to a six-speed automatic transmission sending power to all four wheels. Himalaya promises drivers “will have no doubt of the performance and drivability once behind the wheel.”


525-HP Land Rover Defender Is Powered By Corvette Engine
 

Roscobbc

Moderator
I understand the nostalgia 'thing' about the Land Rover - but how the hell do they drive the things - especially the swb versions - I'm not tall (5' 10") but there is zero legroom - and dashboard and lots of hard metal bits are so close to your legs - wouldn't want to have a head-on in one!
 
N

Norm

Guest
I think it was originally designed to accommodate the ladies that were well off........;)
 

Redlevel

Well-known user
Land Rover.. Turning drivers into mechanics since 1948.

I think a retro Landy would be a popular seller without the need for something like a Corvette motor, maybe a hybrid..
 

kentvette

CCCUK Member
I had a Series IIA back in the 70s. At 6'1 I actually never had an issue with fit or comfort. I used to drive it up to London from Kent with no worries. Fab in the summer with the cab off! Alas, everything on them is heavy, so working on them is a bit of a pain!

Many, many years later June and I bought a Suzuki "jeep", two in fact - one of the most underrated 4x4s, that would almost do everything a Land Rover did, but was lighter, smaller and did much more mpg. They became hugely popular in the AWD Club and we had some fun outings. Our second one ended up doing 115k miles over 16 years and needed only a set of tyres, two exhausts and a radiator in the time.

Twisted have been doing up-rated LRs for some years I they put an LS3 in some of theirs. One is on our "lottery win list":)
 
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