New Land Rover Defender V8 model spotted testing

- Still unclear about which V8 motor will be used in this Defender

- The V8 Defender will reportedly arrive sometime in 2021

Our spy photographers in Germany have sent in these Land Rover Defender images making us believe that the V8-powered model’s development is on track.

What gives away the fact that this is a special test mule despite being smartly devoid of any eye-catchy wraps, is the ‘Prototype Vehicle’ decals clearly displayed at the rear. Likewise, the presence of four exhaust pipes (two on either ends) which are further separated by the muffler makes us believe that this is the upcoming V8 Defender.

Having said that, experts are still baffled about which V8 powerplant will power the Defender. Some rumours suggest that this V8 could be a BMW-sourced 4.4-litre eight cylinder mill that can make up to 617bhp/750Nm. Alternatively, other sources dug out the registration details of an earlier Defender prototype to find that it had a 5.0-litre V8 powertrain.

If our guess is right, this 5.0-litre V8 mill could be the supercharged eight-cylinder motor that’s shared across the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, and Velar. But again, there are claims that this motor is expected to be phased out. So, even if the company planned for a limited run of the Defender with these motors, it simply wouldn’t make business sense to divert so many development hours for a model that’s not going to be around as much.