Odin the Defender

24 February 2023

Odin, some snow, and some History...

This "Odin the Defender” isn’t a Nordic god, but a 1988, V8 Land Rover – with carburetors.

• History
• The V8
• Driving Experience
• Photoshoot Day

History: 40 years before it, in 1948 the Land Rover name was first born by inspiration, from the Willys Jeep. The Land Rover was luckily enough made out of aluminium as the war had caused the English to limit all their steel resources. The original (prototype) Land Rovers were inspired by the designer of "Rover", who had a Jeep. He used it for agricultural use and saw the off-road benefits. Typical of the times, England had only allowed automotive manufacturers to build vehicles that could help rebuild the country, and so he was inspired to create the Land-Rover. It used a Rover engine which did well in farm use, and even better when it was combined with 4WD and the lightness of rust-proof aluminium. Then, instead of the Jeep chassis it was eventually made with its own shorter and wider chassis for better handling in the muddy anomalies of the lands, and even though it was overall heavier than the Willys, it was still faster through them.

Also, fun fact: The original green color was from the extra leftover paint of airplane cockpits from the war. Just cool.

This combination of toughness, capability, and simplicity made it so appealing and easy to mass produce that it sold like crazy “all over the world”, as they say.

African countries, and Australia fell in love with its utilitarianism and abilities immediately, in personal and commercial use. It was exempt from tax as a commercial vehicle, and then as an MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle) which kept the purchase tax to a minimum, but allowed the model to be used as whatever the people wanted. By the late ‘60s, over 70% of sales were abroad. Crazy. Even crazier is that in Africa and Australia, the Defender dominated with 90% of off-road vehicle sales compared to other models. 

That is because of the many varying versions of the Defender, some so big that they could fit 12 people, legally making them a bus. As some of you might know, the famous Series 2 is the most popular, and collectable Defender type, as it is the perfect combination of old/classic, but civilized, aesthetically, and also technologically, despite still not having the gear synchromesh of the Series 3.

So… the V8…:

In the very early 1970’s, Land Rover had added the (awesome) Range Rover to the product list. But even though the Range Rover was doing great as (one of?) the first ever Luxury Off Road vehicles in the world, the Defender was on the market long enough that Nissan and Toyota started competing hard in their neighboring countries such as Australia, and many Asian countries, with models such as the Patrol and Land Cruiser. Then, Land Rover finally put the Range Rover V8 in the Defender. The more modern 80's versions of the Defender were named the “Defender 90”, “110”, and “130” because of the (roughly) 90 inch, 110 inch, and 130 inch wheelbase.

Driving Experience: 

It drives like a normal car (!!). Really. Those of you who have driven +1980's Defenders will agree immediately. You will also know about the funny, and stupid (but funny) distance of the door exactly next to you, touching you with the super thin window. The one which burns you in summer, and freezes you in your winter mountain adventures. And that's when you just enjoy that classic British engineering a bit more.

Next, the ASMR.. Awesome V8 sound thanks to its brutal 3.5L Carbureted rawness combined with the custom exhaust that Odin has, and pulls better than a Fiat 128 Rally with 90hp and half the weight... (Not tested. But maybe we can test it for you...).

It steers normally, and shifts normally for an English car of the time period, (and even better than some early 2000s beater cars), and is as comfortable as you need it to be to get your daily rural duties done. Just remember to always have 50 Euros next to the car keys for your daily visit to Mahmud at the Gas station.

Photoshoot Day:

It's so funny to me, that foreigners think we don't get any snow here in Greece, and yet we get so much so often, that we hoon around more than any Englishman mechanic could have dreamed.

The warm clothes and boots, the mud, and the silence of the wintery snow made the experience feel like a vacation from real life. And even though the specific model only has a central differential lock, it gets the job done. The 90 looks so good and "at home" in this scenery, probably because it was. It was like when you take a dog to the beach and it has more fun in 5 minutes than you do in the entire day.

So, when you feel like doing something cool in your free time in the winter, find a V8 carbureted Defender 90 with a custom exhaust, and go haul ass in the snow.

As Jeremy Clarkson says, when the English call something "British", they're proud to claim it theirs, usually implying that it is English and not... Scottish for example. This is a pure English product though, so all good - Their joy in this product is earned. Now your next question might be "What does it defend????"... I guess it defended the English. Not during the war, but after. They had something simple that was manly, worked, and “defended” people from the post-war catastrophes. And it definitely defended the English name in other countries who saw the true masculinity of the product. Cool car.