Make you Defender a lot faster than it should be

As anticipation for the reveal of Land Rover’s new Defender grows, the British off-road vehicle specialist has announced an official upgradefor its existing carpark of Defenders.Production might have ended in 2016, but Land Rover is not allowing the opportunity to reengage and profit from existing Defenders owners pass it by.

If you own a Defender built between 1994 and 2016 Land Rover’s very own classic workshop has a selection of design and engineering upgrades available for your vehicle.The exterior enhancements are limited to ‘Classic Works’ door badges and 18-inch Sawtooth design alloy wheels. Behind those wheels you can order more powerful brakes and significantly improved suspension.

Nearing the specification of Land Rover’s limited-edition Defender V8 Works, the suspension and brake upgrade is only applicable to vehicles newer than 2007. It tallies more rebound resistant coil spring rates, high volume dampers and new anti-roll bars, links and bushes.What will be of most interest to owners of the 2.2-litre turbodiesel Defender models is an official Land Rover sanctioned power boost for the engine. This kit releases 30kW of additional power to peak 120kW and 463Nm. Those numbers enable Defender to run a true top speed of 170kph, which should be novel and terrifying all the same.

At a time of great disruption for the British automotive industry, the Land Rover Classic upgrade kit will be applied to vehicles at a special workshop in Essen, Germany, in addition to Land Rover's own Coventry facility.These upgrades are also only applicable to the 90 and 110 wheelbase Defenders, precluding you from potentially building a 170kph capable 130 double-cab.The optionfor South African Defender owners, relating to the classic upgrade kit, remains unclear.

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