The idea of the ‘restomod’ is popular among car enthusiasts and Land Rover has started producing their own. But if you want to create your own version in a rebuild project, you have lots of good options for the V8 engine.
Among the most recent iterations of the Restomod is the revamp Land Rover carried out on four classic V8 Defenders. “Good grief” was the first response of Top Gear Magazine.
The manufacturer has added two new restomod versions, which means the following are now on offer:
· A Defender 90 Station wagon
· 90 Soft Top
· 110 Station Wagon
· The new 110 Double-Cab pick-up
· The new 90 hard top
All the models have 399bhp V8 engines, as well as each having somewhat garish green paint and equally starting price tags of £228,000 upwards. All of this was done for a customer who commissioned four different variations. Good grief indeed!
Of course, your own Land Rover V8 rebuild project costs you rather less and you may try something very different, not just in terms of whether you want a soft top or station wagon look, or the final paint job, but in other features you choose to include.
What V8 Engines Will Fit In A Defender?
Whether you need a 399BHP V8 engine is one of those choices. The Defender has a long history and these have included many different engines, so you have lots of options:
· The 2.5 litre diesel turbo and 2.5 litre diesel were used in the first Defenders, which were launched in 1990
· The 200 TDI, with 11, 12 and 13 litre engines, was introduced later in 1990 and was dominant until 1998
· The Td5 was the next dominant engine, from 1998 to 2007
· The Puma engines, made by Ford, were used from 2007 to 2016
As the Defender Buyer Blog noted, you may opt for the 300Tdi as the most robust engine, while the Td5 and Puma may be better for power and efficiency, but there is no hard and fast rule.
Designing restomods is all about putting your own stamp on a vehicle. If it is a defender, those options include lots of engine alternatives.