Beauden Barrett partners with V8 Land Rover Defender OCTA

Beauden Barrett is the face of the New Zealand launch of Defender OCTA. Photos: JLR NZ

All Black icon Beauden Barrett has joined a new team, this time supporting a British legend, the Land Rover Defender, as its new ambassador.

Barrett, one of the most decorated players in international rugby, is the face of the New Zealand launch of Defender OCTA, the toughest and most dynamically capable Defender ever made. 

To mark the occasion, Land Rover New Zealand commissioned filming in locations significant to Barrett’s life in Taranki.

Barrett grew up on a farm in Pungarehu along with his rugby-mad siblings. In 2018, Beauden, Scott and Jordie Barrett made history when they all started a test for the All Blacks last year. 

A campaign was filmed around Taranaki where Barrett grew up.

The film with Beauden Barrett and the Defender OCTA includes Taranaki Stadium, Arawhata Road, and farmland along the Tongapōrutu coastline. The content draws powerful parallels between his rugby roots and the capability of Defender OCTA.

“It’s a real privilege to bring this partnership to life at home in Taranaki, where I grew up, and where my love for rugby started. Defender is built for performance and purpose, and those values really resonate with me,” said Barrett.

Defender OCTA is the brand’s most powerful model to date, equipped with a 4.4-litre Twin Turbo mild-hybrid V8 engine and capable of 0–100 km/ph mph in under 4 seconds.

The new Defender is powered with a 4.4-litre Twin Turbo mild-hybrid V8 engine.

Its advanced suspension, enhanced durability and dynamic engineering make it ready for New Zealand’s toughest terrain, while still offering the refinement expected from a Defender.

Ben Montgomery, General Manager, Jaguar Land Rover New Zealand, said: “Beauden is the perfect ambassador for Defender. He represents the same values that define the brand: resilience, humility, and the drive  to go beyond.” 

Defender has supported rugby globally for over a decade, including as Worldwide Partner of the  Rugby World Cup since 2011.