AutoSpies posts Land Rover Nürburgring shots

AutoSpies published a set of spy shots on May 20 showing a camouflaged Land Rover prototype circulating the Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany. The outlet framed the vehicle as a possible new rival to Mercedes-Benz’s G-Class, and its post said the SUV was caught “circling the Nurburgring.” The images add to a growing cluster of reports around an even more extreme Defender-based model. The Drive, in a separate May 20 report using the same photographer credit, described the vehicle as a Land Rover Defender prototype that appeared “even more extreme than the Defender Octa.” ### What exactly did AutoSpies post on May 20? (autospies.com) AutoSpies listed the item in its Spy Shots section on May 20, 2026, with the headline “Land Rover’s New G-Class Rival Caught Circling The Nurburgring.” The site’s category page shows the post was submitted by “Agent009” and timestamped at 7:11:36 a.m. The mobile version of the article identifies it as an AutoSpies post dated May 20, 2026. (thedrive.com) The visible text on that page is limited, but it confirms the publication date and the headline used by the outlet. ### Why are people linking this mule to the Defender rather than a separate model? The Drive identified the camouflaged vehicle as a Land Rover Defender prototype, not a clean-sheet SUV. (autospies.com) Its report said the tester looked more extreme than the current Defender OCTA and suggested a connection to the company’s Dakar program. (autospies.com) JLR’s own materials provide the baseline for that comparison. In April 2024, the company said the Defender OCTA would use a V8 twin-turbo powertrain, and JLR said this month that Defender D7X-R won the Stock Class at the January Dakar Rally. ### Which details in the photos stand out most? (thedrive.com) The Drive’s May 20 report highlighted 35-inch Goodyear off-road tires, a stance and bodywork more aggressive than the OCTA, and hardware that it said resembled the Dakar D7X-R’s setup. It also pointed to twin snorkels and suggested the prototype could share chassis or suspension ideas with the rally vehicle. (media.jaguarlandrover.com) Autoevolution and Carscoops, in separate reports published May 20, also described the test vehicle as an unusually extreme Defender-based prototype and compared it with Mercedes-AMG’s G 63 4x4 Squared. Those descriptions are consistent with AutoSpies’ framing of the mule as a G-Class rival, though neither publication cited JLR confirmation of the final badge or model name. (thedrive.com) ### Has JLR said what this vehicle is? JLR has not, based on the material reviewed, publicly identified the Nürburgring prototype shown in the May 20 spy photos. The company’s recent public statements mention Defender OCTA sales and the Defender D7X-R’s Dakar result, but do not announce a new road-going derivative matching the test mule in the photos. (autoevolution.com) That leaves the current public record in the hands of spy-photo outlets. AutoSpies published the images on May 20, and other automotive sites used the same sighting to argue that Land Rover is testing something beyond the existing OCTA. ### What should readers watch next? May 21 is the day after the AutoSpies post, and there is still no public JLR identification for the Nürburgring vehicle in the sources reviewed. (media.jaguarlandrover.com) The next concrete step is any official JLR filing, media release or product announcement that ties the prototype to the Defender line or names a production program. (autospies.com)