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New Land Rover Defender Octa Black will be hard to spot in the dark

The “all-black interpretation” of Defender flagship has no fewer than 30 exterior elements finished in gloss or satin black

Hot on the heels of the Range Rover Sport SV Black, comes a new flagship Land Rover Defender. The creatively named Land Rover Defender Octa Black features no fewer than 30 pieces of exterior trim finished in either gloss or satin black, with a similarly-dark finish applied to the cabin. As with the existing Octa, the Black is fitted with the firm’s most powerful twin-turbo V8 engine, producing 626bhp.

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Land Rover refers to the new model as an “all-black interpretation of the unstoppable Defender flagship”. Taking those words quite literally, the Defender Octa Black gets Narvik Black paint which, as on other models in the 4x4 range, can be wrapped in a Matte Protective Film for an additional charge.

Elsewhere, there’s a choice of 20 or 22-inch wheels, both in black, while the black badges and brake calipers feature silver script. You’ll find satin black powder-coated scuff plates and gloss-black quad exhaust tips, and you can even choose to paint your car’s towing eye or towbar in, you guessed it, black.

Inside, the ‘Performance Seats’ are finished in Ebony Semi-Aniline Leather with “unique perforation patterns” and “new stitching detail” on the backrests. Bizarrely, the seat backs and armrest hinges are finished in Carpathian Grey, rather than black.

On the dashboard, the car’s cross beam gets a satin-black powder coat, while owners can specify chopped carbon-fibre trim elements, in what Land Rover calls the “epitome of tough luxury”.

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Mark Cameron, managing director for the Defender brand said: “We know our clients love giving their Defenders all-black finishes, so our designers have applied this principle to every possible surface – inside and out – to create the ultimate tough luxury Defender Octa.”

This can be considered a purely cosmetic upgrade; the Octa Black is unchanged under the metal from the standard range-topper – meaning a 626bhp twin-turbo, mild-hybrid V8 and a dedicated Octa drive mode. Prices from the Octa Black start from £158,045 – £10k more than the existing Octa.

All cars feature a 13.1-inch infotainment system and 15-speaker, 700-watt Meridian stereo with Body and Soul Seats (BASS) – linking neatly with Defender’s support of the 41-date Oasis global tour, which kicks off today (4 July).

In other news, the Defender Octa is now offered in two new colours: Sargasso Blue and Borasco Grey. A Patagonia White Matte Wrap will be available towards the end of the year.

Configure your perfect Land Rover Defender 110 through our Find A Car service now. Alternatively, check out the best deals out there on a new Land Rover Defender 110 from stock or top prices on used Land Rover Defender 110 models...

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Richard Ingram deputy editor Auto Express
Deputy editor

Richard has been part of the team for over a decade. During this time he has covered a huge amount of news and reviews for Auto Express, as well as being the face of Carbuyer and DrivingElectric on Youtube. In his current role as deputy editor, he is now responsible for keeping our content flowing and managing our team of talented writers.

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