Land Rover fitted a V8 in the new Defender, and it is a supercharged 5.0-liter motor that pumps out 518 horsepower (525 PS) and 461 lb-f. (625 Nm) of torque to go along with the massive power figure. It is no secret that the result is fairly quick, but the time has come to see one go flat out on a section of unrestricted highway in Germany.

As you will observe, the growl of the supercharged V8 is just what the doctor ordered for the most powerful production Land Rover Defender to date. While its owner will have to decide regarding their intentions with the vehicle every time they order new tires, it may be a sacrifice that many will make since they have gone for the V8 option.

If we are being too vague here, the idea is that the best tires for off-roading are the worst for on-road driving, especially in high-speed situations, as well as in conditions that require the best possible grip on asphalt.

In many cases, off-road specialized tires are great at their main job, but terrible in other situations, and this includes wet roads, where hydroplaning will be the norm.

Attempting to drive an off-roader with the described tires on the highway will result in more noise than most are comfortable with, and it will also have a disturbing effect on the braking distances of their vehicles. The sad part is that some people are not aware of this, which means that they are putting themselves, as well as others, at risk while driving on the road at near highway speeds with their off-road tires.

When opting for the best possible behavior on the road, the described vehicles with road-focused tires will have to leave most of their off-roading ambitions for the day when they are suited with the according tires.

Road-focused tires will gather dirt, sand, or mud too quickly, which will lead to the vehicle becoming stuck once their grooves are full and the driver makes a mistake in their off-roading activity. It is that simple.

With that being written, this is what a Defender V8 sounds like when someone takes it for a couple of acceleration tests, as well as a top speed run on the German autobahn.

^{Article Credit: Sebastian Toma
Full Articles: https://www.autoevolution.com/news/land-rover-defender-v8-stretches-its-legs-on-the-highway-sounds-just-right-195685.html#}

Never on top of quality control and assurance, the Jaguar Land Rover group doesn’t bear the blame for recall campaign 22V-523. On this occasion, the culprit is a Swedish-American automotive supplier by the name of Autoliv, a company we’ve covered on numerous occasions in our recalls category.

On May 25th, the supplier notified Jaguar Land Rover of a defect identified during the manufacturing process of the front seatbelt pretensioners used in certain SUVs. The defect comes in the guise of damaged front seatbelt pretensioner tubes installed on the seatbelt retractor. This apparently insignificant component prevents the pretensioner from correctly operating by not pretensioning the seatbelt in the event of an accident. Understandably, reduced or no pretensioning increases the risk of injury.

Autoliv presented the issue to the automaker’s Product Safety and Compliance Committee on June 1st, which led to investigations at the Nitra assembly plant in Slovakia, Halewood in the UK, and Solihull in the UK as well. The PSCC subsequently progressed the issue to the Recall Determination Committee in July, which determined that all of the suspect seatbelt pretensioners need to be inspected and – if damaged – replaced.

Dealers will inspect and replace the driver and front-passenger assemblies, as necessary, from September 16th onward. Suspect vehicles are split between the 2022 to 2023 model year Land Rover Defender, Discovery, Discovery Sport, Ranger Rover Sport, and Range Rover Velar. 145 units of the Velar are recalled, along with 2,869 units of the Range Rover Sport.

The Discovery Sport numbers 427 copies, the Discovery is listed with 245 examples, and the Defender is affected to the tune of 1,241 units. The subpar seatbelt pretensioners were produced at an Autoliv facility in Hungary.

Rather than waiting for envelopes to arrive by first-class mail, owners can alternatively contact Land Rover customer service at 1-800-637-6837. Those peeps who prefer to keep it simple can always use the VIN look-up tool on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website.

_{^{Article Credit: Mircea Panait
Full Articles: https://www.autoevolution.com/news/land-rover-is-recalling-5000-suvs-over-damaged-seatbelt-pretensioners-194606.html#}}

While Land Rover is hard at work trying to make the reinvented L663 Defender a common sight in the United States, its L316 predecessor is not exactly the perfect material for the American pickup truck lifestyle.

Alas, there is one unit – imported from France and clear of pesky U.S. Customs intrusion – that may seek to change that. Dressed in Army Green over a black leather interior and with beefy looks that seem to make it ready for anything (including an unintentional off-road roll-over – hence the protruding roll cage!), this Defender 130 pickup truck is now more American than its British parent ever imagined.

Proudly tucked in the inventory of Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Garage Kept Motors, it now has an LS swap on board – a nasty little V8 secret that beats under the hood with the blunt force of a 2015 Chevy Camaro SS 6.2-liter V8 engine. The paintjob is also unique according to the description, and we can only say the semi-matte green shade bodes extremely well for the black details seen on a lot of exterior parts (including the bedliner).

The Landy is just as serious inside, where it is all black vinyl leather business – complete with a few hints that something is amiss. Those include the aftermarket instrument cluster with the odometer indicating a mere 40 miles (64 km) – though we can all bet those are of the nasty TMU (total mileage unknown) variety. Plus, there is also an aftermarket center console with a modern shift lever for the automatic transmission, the black roll bar system, and whatnot.

As for the rest of the highlights, those certainly include the beefy all-terrain tires, 6.2-liter ‘LS’ V8 connected to a custom exhaust system with MagnaFlow muffler, and a functional Lo and Hi 4×4 range selector, among others. And last, but not least, comes the asking price – the dealership wants no less than $119,900 to be parted with this rare whip!

^{_{Article Credit: Aurel Niculescu
Full Articles: https://www.autoevolution.com/news/off-road-ready-1995-defender-130-is-a-france-import-hides-a-nasty-v8-secret-194220.html#}}