2011 Land Rover Defender 110 'Coyote' 5.0 V8

The registration is not ‘BO55 LOF’ but ‘V8 VBN’

• A labour of love turning a 2011 Defender Puma XS into the ultimate performance Land Rover
• Ford Performance 5.0-litre 'Coyote' Gen 2 V8 engine with 450bhp and 550Nm - a far superior V8 installation upgrade than using a Chevrolet LS-engine
• Galvanised Marsland (OEM) chassis with the V8 mounted in the exact position that the diesel engine was fitted
• Ashcroft Transmissions created a custom, one-of-one, manual 6-speed gearbox, designed and installed to fit to the V8 engine and accept the standard Defender transfer box
• LOF EXTREME-spec output shaft, coupled to an upgraded LT230 LR transfer box rebuilt by Winchester Gears, fitted with larger bearings, stronger shafts and an ATB centre differential
• Rebuilt front & rear axles, new Winchester gears, automatic torque biasing differentials front and back, LOF 6-pot big brake kit and HD driveshafts
• Full 'Lucari' interior and other upgrades (aluminium hinges, door handles, etc.)
• Test proven for some 500 miles, professionally detailed, ceramic coated, plus an MOT inspection was completed by a main dealer

Following the successful reception of the all-new Land Rover Discovery in 1989, it was decided to give the traditional Land Rover its own name: 'Defender'. Despite, or perhaps because of, being recognisably related to the very first Land Rover of 1948, the Defender retained a steadfastly loyal customer base, indeed, in the UK in 2013 it even managed to out-sell the Range Rover.

Big enough for all the family plus a brace of Labradors and luggage in the back, long-wheelbase Defenders remain highly usable, long-term keepers thanks to their practicality and their personality. For decades, the long-wheelbase model has found favour with diverse buyers, from armies and police forces to country hotels and farmers. In more recent times, Defenders have transcended to a new and different level, with tuning companies adapting them into high-performance driving machines, still with all the innate character, but with some startling new additions!

The Defender 110 presented here is quite exceptional. Starting life as a 2011 TDCi XS model with the four-cylinder, 2.4-litre Puma unit, this latest engine was coupled to a revised, quieter transfer case and a new six-speed manual gearbox, which allowed a longer top gear for quiet, efficient long-distance cruising.

Enter 'LOF' of Leicestershire, a specialist Land Rover manufacturing business, run by a chap whose Land Rover knowledge is quite simply encyclopaedic. Renowned for their engineering prowess, they manufacture and sell superb, uprated clutches, brakes, and other components for Land Rovers. 'Attention to detail' dictate how they manufacture and this ethos we see with this vehicle project.

LOF set about creating the ultimate 110, to showcase the best of their products, plus some other choice offerings, going down the route of installing, at the heart of this vehicle, an American V8 engine. Many Land Rover tuners have done this, but to no greater effect than we see here - a more adaptable, sophisticated Ford-based 5.0-litre 'Coyote' Gen 2, V8 engine was utilised. Burbling through an adjustable exhaust value system, it is as tuneful as you would want from such a special engine. Around this, the rest of the vehicle was enhanced with specialist, high-quality products to create a super-powerful, yet very driveable high-performance 4x4. Properly designed, built, tested, and even ceramic coated, this is one hell of a Land Rover.

With an amazing specification sheet (full details on request), an exemplary finish and attention to detail, this 110, nicknamed 'The DefStang', offers presence and performance to rival that of the £143,370 G63 'G-Wagon' or indeed Land Rover's own £150,000 Defender Works V8 70th Edition.