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Land Rover Defender Spectre by Himalaya

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This is what happens when a good SUV goes rogue… and we like it!

by Sidd Dhimaan

Land Rover launched the all-new 2020 Defender a couple of days back, and the SUV has it has been the talk of the internet ever since. In fact, the hype is so extensive that even aftermarket company.

If you remember, the new Defender was spotted without clothes for the first time on the movie set of the upcoming James Bond movie “No Time To Die” just about a week before the official launch.

As it turns out, South Carolina based Himalaya decided to customize this Defender, taking inspiration from another previous Bond movie, Spectre, and even gave it the same name. Does it look exciting? Well, you tell us.

2019 Land Rover Defender Spectre by Himalaya

Year:2019
Make:Land Rover
Model:Defender
Price:Premium
car segment:off road
size:Compact
Purpose:Off-Roader
body style:suv

Exterior

Bullbar on the face
Heavy-duty Warn Zeon 10S winch
Fog Lights
Flared fenders
18-inch gloss black wheels
37-inch Toyo tires
Auxiliary LED off-road lights
Jeep-sourced Poison Spyder rear bumper

On the onset, the Defender Spectre looks huge and bulky. It is based on the crew cab pickup configuration. And, let me start off by saying that it does not bear any resemblance whatsoever to the new Defender. First off, the Spectre makes use of body panels and frames sourced from England. Each of these frames is reinforced and galvanized to fend off the corrosion.

Up front, it features a black plastic bull bar with ‘Defender’ embossed on it.

The round headlights are retained as is, but a black covering is installed that surrounds the headlights.

The turn signal indicators are also placed next to the headlights. The bottom part of the grille is slapped with a heavy-duty Warn Zeon 10S winch, and below that is an underbody skid plate. Since the truck does not come with a bumper per se, it boasts an excellent approach angle. As for the hood, it features an extra component that acts as a power bulge of sorts.

 

The side profile looks like a typical military truck. The truck rides on 18-inch Sawtooth Alloy gloss black wheels wrapped in 37-inch Toyo Open Country tires. To accommodate these huge tires, the tuner adds flared wheel arches as well. 

The frame dominates the windshield area and extends all the way to the sides and the end of the truck bed. To add more lighting, Himalaya has installed four auxiliary lights on the roof that brighten up the roads in the front. 

The doors come with custom handles, whereas the manually adjustable rearview mirror pops out of the A-pillar. Himalaya is also offering this truck with Amp Research retracting power steps.

 

Move to the back, and you’ll realize that the Defender Spectre looks like a monster.

The taillights are retro units, circular and small in size, and one on each side for the brakes, turn signal, and reverse. There is no Defender branding anywhere here. The funkiest aspect here is the custom made bed mount tire carrier that carries the huge spare tire. 

It adds a lot of character to the overall appearance of the truck. The Poison Spyder rear bumper is sourced from Jeep and comes with two tow hooks as well. Overall, Himalaya has done a great job to recreate the Bond villain’s truck!

Interior

Recaro seats
Ruskin leather upholstery
Alcantara headliner
Momo steering wheel
Dakota digital gauges
Exmoor interior LED lighting
Alpine touchscreen infotainment system
Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatible
Heated seats
Safety Devises Exo-cage

 

On the inside, you wouldn’t expect much from a truck of this magnitude. But, Himalaya has offered some fancy stuff in here. The upholstery is made of Ruskin leather and Alcantara. The Recaro seats are supremely comfortable and befitting in a vehicle like this. 

The instrument cluster features Dakota Digital gauges, and the stock steering wheel is swapped with a Momo unit. The cabin looks lively, thanks to Exmoor interior LED lighting. For you audiophiles, Himalaya has equipped the Spectre with a JL Audio speaker mated to an Alpine HALO touchscreen head unit. It supports Bluetooth, Android Auto, and Apple CarPlay as well.

The tuner also designs and manufactures its own handles and latches, and those are featured in here as well. This offers perfect quality and fitment.

For some reason, Himalaya thought it would be good to make the Defender Spectre quiet on the inside. The off-roader comes with Dynamat sound-deadening insulation and heavy-duty door seals all around to keep the noise outside the truck. 

In my opinion, this was certainly not required as the engine has a brilliant sound to it and you would like to hear every grunt it makes, whether you’re driving on the roads or off them. 

To take care in case of a rollover, the truck comes with a Safety Devices exo-cage installed. Other stuff here includes Rear Back-Up Camera, Power Windows, LED Markers, Front Heated Seats, LED Offroad Lights, Window Tint.

Drivetrain

6.2-liter, LS3 V-8 engine
525 Horsepower
495 pound-feet of torque
Six-speed automatic transmission
Holley Electronic Fuel Injection system
Wilwood brakes
Custom radiators and consoles to fit the transmission
Cummins R2.8 Turbodiesel engine on offer
Four-inch liftkit
Fox Racing remote-reservoir shocks
 
 

The aftermarket company brings in the biggest changes under the hood. The stock truck was powered by a 3.9-liter, V-8 engine that made 182 horses. It was a 1961-Designed Buick/Rover mill. Himalaya, 

however, decided to swap with more dynamic and engaging mills. You read that right; mills. The Spectre comes with an array of engine options for you to choose from.

The default swapped-engine is a GM-sourced 6.2-liter, LS3 engine that makes 525 horses and 495 pound-feet of torque.

The company had troubles cooling this engine in the stock bay, so it decided to plonk in custom radiators that would help overcome this hurdle. Custom consoles were also built to accommodate the six-speed automatic transmission, again from GM, along with an all-wheel-drive transfer case. 

The engine also comes with a Holley Electronic Fuel Injection system for optimum power delivery and fuel efficiency, Hooker headers, stainless exhaust, and an aluminum radiator with electric fans.

 

The other engines on offer include a Cummins R2.8 turbodiesel and a Whipple-supercharged LS3.

The latter is basically the same as the LS3 6.2-liter engine, but with a supercharger. The decision to mate the engine to a supercharger was made after positioning and fitting the engine in the bay. 

The steering is handles by a Jeep Wrangler JK steering box with a custom linkage for increased precision and better feedback. The braking duties, on the other hand, are taken over by Wilwood, although the future products could come with Brembo discs all around. 

Since the truck comes with 37-inch tires, it had to be lifted to even fit them there. The Defender Spectre is lifted four-inches and retrofitted with custom coil springs, Fox Racing remote-reservoir shocks, and one-off control arms sourced from Currie Enterprises.

 

Even though it’s a replica on the onset, the Defender Spectre is an expensive offering.

The truck begins at $165,000 for the base model, and goes all the way up to $250,000.

To put things in perspective, the new Land Rover Defender starts at $51,000.

Final Thoughts

 

The Defender Spectre looks fantastic, and if you are a Daniel Craig fan, I’m sure you’ll have your eyes set on it. The $250,000 tag seems a little too steep, but if you look at the Spectre’s aura and peep into the engine bay, you’ll know this truck is special. 

Personally, I like the intimidating looks, but the engine options are what pull me towards it. For those concerned about this product, Himalaya says that the engine and transmission come with a 24,000-mile/ two-year warranty.

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The 3 Fastest AWD Sports Cars Ranked

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Don’t dismiss these rides; they’ll smoke you and do it with grins on their faces

by Kirby Garlitos


It’s no secret that if you want your car to post a blistering 0-to-60-mph acceleration time, turning all four wheels from the jump is the best way to do it. Sure, it’s not as easy as doing just that, but years of testing vehicles across all platforms has shown that all-wheel-drive cars provide much better traction than rear-wheel or front-whee-drive vehicles.

Combine that capacity with all the new technologies that have arrived — launch control and torque vectoring — and it’s no surprise that some of the fastest-accelerating cars in the world are equipped with all-wheel-drive. Motor Trend has done a lot of testing on this front and the numbers bear fruit.

These 10 sports cars are the fastest of their kind. They’re all equipped with all-wheel-drive and they can all leave you in the dust if you don’t give them the respect they deserve.

2019 JAGUAR XE SV PROJECT 8: 3.2 SECONDS

There are other cars that are just as potent as the Jaguar XE SV Project 8, but even if the Lamborghini Urus can sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds, it doesn’t exactly fit the profile of a sports car. In some ways, the XE SV Project 8 doesn’t fit the mold, either. It’s a high-performance sedan, but just because it has two extra doors, that doesn’t mean it can’t qualify as a sports car.

See, the XE SV Project 8 was created for the specific purpose of performance. It comes with a significant load of aerodynamic components to go with serious chassis modifications and enough carbon fiber bits that would make other versions of the XE green with envy.

Then there’s the 5.0-liter supercharged V-8, which produces close to 600 horsepower. That’s enough to help propel the all-wheel-drive sedan to a 0-to-60-mph time of 3.2 seconds and a spot on this list.

Jaguar XE SV Project 8 specifications

Engine:    5.0-liter supercharged V-8
Transmission:    eight-speed automatic transmission
Horsepower:    592 horsepower
Torque:    516 pound-feet of torque
Curb Weight:    3,847 pounds
Power-to-Weight Ratio:    0.154 horsepower / pound
0-60 mph:    3.2 seconds
0-120 mph:    10.2 seconds
Top Speed:    200 mph

2017 ACURA NSX: 3.1 SECONDS 


The Acura NSX is an interesting sports car. It’s still a bit early to say if it can fill the massive shoes left by its predecessor, but even if it doesn’t end up being as revered as the OG model, it’s still a fool’s errand to think that the new NSX doesn’t cut the performance mustard. 

The opposite is actually true. Not only is the 2017 NSX fast, but it’s quick enough to sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.1 seconds. 

That makes it one of the quickest all-wheel-drive hybrid cars in the world. The 2017 NSX lays claim to that title because of the potent tag-team made up of a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 engine and electric motors that combine to produce a heart-stopping 573 horsepower and 476 pound-feet of torque. 

It’s hard to compare a car like the 2017 NSX with the Nissan GT-R, but it is encouraging to see that after years of sitting in the shadows, the Japanese performance car scene is now well-represented by a pair of breakneck, all-wheel-drive performance cars that can give you acceleration goosebumps, even if they do it in two different ways.

Acura NSX specifications

Engine:    3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V-6
Transmission:    nine-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission
Horsepower:    573 horsepower
Torque:    476 pound-feet of torque
Curb Weight:    3,803 pounds
Power-to-Weight Ratio:    0.151 horsepower / pound
0-60 mph:    3.1 seconds
0-120 mph:    10.0 seconds
Top Speed:    191 mph

2017 PORSCHE 911 TARGA 4 GTS: 3.0 SECONDS



The 911.2-generation Porsche 911 brings plenty of options to the table, but if you’re looking for a version that can lay waste to acceleration times and turn your hair into a crazy mess, the 911.2 Porsche 911 Targa 4 GTS is the one for you. 

The Targa’s roof panel has an appeal that it can call its own and the addition of turbochargers, though controversial, makes the car a lot livelier than it probably should be. But it’s the “4” in the car’s nomenclature and the GTS-spec that make it one of the most rounded 911s you’ll ever find on the road. 

The 911 Targa 4 GTS’ 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 engine produces 450 horsepower and 405 pound-feet of torque. The engine is mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, which, in turn, sends power to all four wheels, helping the sports car accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.0 seconds. 

Put all these elements together and you have a supercar that can double as a daily driver without skipping a beat. For an automaker like Porsche that offers enough versions of its fabled 911 nameplate, the Targa 4 GTS stands out on its own for all the reasons that make Porsche the automaker that it is.

Porsche 911 Targa 4 GTS specifications

Engine:    3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-6
Transmission:    seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission
Horsepower:    450 horsepower
Torque:    405 pound-feet of torque
Curb Weight:    3,642 pounds
Power-to-Weight Ratio:    0.124 horsepower / pound
0-60 mph:    3.0 seconds
Top Speed:    190 mph
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