The badge says P425 and the spec sheet says 5.0 litres, eight cylinders and a supercharger, which in 2026 makes the Defender 110 X‑Dynamic SE something close to an anachronism with a warranty.
It is also, on paper, the cleverest way to buy a supercharged Defender. And you probably have about a model year left to do it.
The numbers Land Rover publishes
Land Rover’s own technical specification lists the 110 P425 at 425PS (313kW) between 5,500 and 6,600rpm, with 550Nm from 1,800 to 5,000rpm. Capacity is 5,000cc, bore and stroke 92.5mm by 93.0mm, compression 9.5:1. Nought to 100km/h takes 5.8 seconds, which is 5.5 seconds to 60mph. Top speed is quoted at 191km/h, 119mph, with 209km/h or 130mph listed on 22‑inch wheels.
Now look at the column next door. The P525 makes 525PS and 625Nm, but that torque doesn’t arrive until 2,500rpm. The detuned P425 has its full 550Nm 700rpm earlier and holds it to 5,000. On a wet slipway, in a rutted field, or with 3.5 tonnes on the hitch, an earlier torque plateau is worth more than a hundred horsepower you’ll never legally deploy.
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That’s the whole argument for this engine, and Land Rover doesn’t make it for you.
The bits it doesn’t lose
Here’s where the spec sheet gets genuinely interesting for anyone actually writing a cheque.
The P425 keeps six‑piston opposed monobloc front calipers on 380mm discs, with 365mm ventilated rears. That’s the same braking hardware listed for the P525. You are not paying for the flagship badge to get flagship stoppers.
More useful: seating. The specification tables list the 110 P425 in 5, 6 and 5+2 configurations, while the footnotes state the third row is not available on P400e or Defender V8 models. Read that carefully. If you want a supercharged 5.0‑litre Defender 110 that can carry seven people, the P425 is the only one on the price list. The badged V8 can’t do it.
Roof and payload go the same way. The 110 P425 is quoted with gross vehicle weight of 3,230kg and payload up to 800kg. Look at the 130 tables, where the two sit side by side more cleanly, and the P425 is listed with dynamic roof load of 100kg, or 168kg on off‑road tyres, while the V8 P500 is listed at zero. A Defender V8 cannot legally carry a loaded roof rack while moving. The P425 can.
Braked towing is 3,500kg with a maximum combination weight of 6,730kg on the 110. Wading is 900mm on air suspension, with off‑road approach and departure angles of 37.6 and 41.9 degrees.
The running costs are not a rounding error
WLTP combined consumption for the 110 P425 is listed at 14.0 to 14.7 l/100km, which is 20.2 to 19.2mpg. Combined CO2 lands between 316 and 333g/km.
The usable tank holds 90 litres. Do the arithmetic and a full tank at the optimistic end of the WLTP range is roughly 395 miles, before you’ve discovered what the supercharger sounds like above 4,000rpm. Real driving will not flatter that figure.
In the UK, a CO2 figure north of 255g/km puts a new car in the top first‑year VED band, and this is comfortably north of it. Company car drivers should stop reading here and go look at the D350.
The maintenance case nobody makes
Two things on the spec sheet are quietly relevant to owning this car for a decade.
First, the P425 has no mild‑hybrid system. The diesels and the P400 six carry 48‑volt hardware; the supercharged V8 does not. That’s one fewer belt‑integrated starter‑generator, one fewer high‑voltage battery, one fewer expensive out‑of‑warranty failure mode.
Second, look at what’s missing from the petrol columns entirely: the diesel entries list a Diesel Exhaust Fluid tank of 20.7 litres, and the V8 lists none. No DEF tank means no urea quality sensor, no SCR dosing system, and no chance of being reduced to a crawl on a motorway because a sensor decided your fluid was diluted. Anyone who has lived with a modern diesel derate will understand exactly how much that is worth.
The counterweight is that you are running a large‑capacity supercharged petrol engine at 9.5:1 compression in a 2,411kg vehicle. Brake wear, tyre wear and fuel are the bills that will actually find you.
Why the clock is ticking
JLR announced its 2027 model year Defender revisions in July, and buried in the powertrain section is the sentence that matters. A new 3.0‑litre six‑cylinder P380 MHEV with 550Nm joins the range, a new six‑cylinder P300 with 470Nm replaces the 2.0‑litre four in select markets, and the 5.0‑litre V8 petrol will only be available in selected markets.
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That is not a discontinuation notice, but nobody in the industry misreads a line like that. The same release confirms the OCTA’s BMW‑sourced 4.4‑litre twin‑turbo drops from its previous output to 540PS with 750Nm and 4.4 seconds to 100km/h, with a revised exhaust manifold to compensate acoustically. When the flagship is giving power back, the old supercharged unit below it is not being planned for a long future.
This engine family has been in Land Rover service since the 525PS Defender V8 arrived, and it traces back much further than that.
The practical verdict
If you want a Defender to work, buy the D350. It tows the same, carries more, and doubles the range.
If you want the last naturally charismatic petrol Defender that isn’t a six‑figure OCTA, the P425 in 110 X‑Dynamic SE form is the sensible version of an unsensible choice. You get the big brakes, the seven seats the flagship can’t offer, a usable roof load, no hybrid hardware and no urea system, and an engine with a broader torque band than the more expensive tune.
You also get 19mpg and a tax bill designed to discourage exactly this decision. Which, in fairness, is rather the point of buying one now.
Images Via: Land Rover
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