- The Land Rover DefenderSpecial Edition is expected to be powered by a 525bhp, 5.0-litre V8 engine

- The new variant could be unveiled later this year

Land Rover is testing a new variant under the Defender range, evident from a new set of spy shots that were taken at the Nurburgring track in Germany. The spy shots reveal a single unit of a fully camouflaged Defender test mule.

As seen in the spy shots here, the Land Rover Defender, which is likely to be a special edition, gets a wider track, chunkier wheel arches, and larger wheels running off road-spec BF Goodrich tyres. These changes suggest that the company could be working on a direct rival to the Mercedes-AMG G63.

Details regarding the interior of the new Land Rover Defender Special Edition remain unknown at the moment, although the quad exhaust setup at the rear hints that the model will be powered by the brand’s 5.0-litre V8 engine that produces 525bhp and 625Nm of torque. The new variant is likely to be unveiled later this year. More details are expected to surface soon. Stay tuned for updates.