Thread: Dakar Defender

At least they said the name the Land rover once, despite the fact it still says land rover on the front of the vehicle.

Interestingly they seem to have changed the airsprings to coils.

Originally Posted by RANDLOVER

Interestingly they seem to have changed the airsprings to coils.

I saw some coils. It would make sense to tune the vehicle to the anticipated conditions including serviceability
but it takes away the Octa's fancy air suspension system.

More:



Coils it is.

Wow, they have Mr Dakar, Stephan Peterhansel driving, he must rate the car as he wouldn't want to be plodding around at the back of the field. IIRC the T2 category has been won by the Land Cruiser the last few years.

A couple more. This time on reconnaissance. You'll have to follow the link as playback here is not available.

Note the modifications:

Relocated Intercooler out board radiators
Front under body protection
Sill protection
Fuel and water provision

I saw in the video that there is still an active 'Terrain' select. I wonder if the race version will have it? I also wonder if they'll permanently disable the traction control etc?
I dislike having to turn off DSC in the D3 every time I stop/start, on he beach. I 'm not a fan of the 'Sand' setting either. It caused me a wee bit of grief, going up Big Sandy, at Byfield. I much prefer my own driving input.

You'll be able to see the Octa in action on Sunday 4th January at 17h00 on SBS Ch 30 AEST in the 2026 Dakar Prologue. There'll be an hour of 2025 highlights immediately before that.