Nothing embodies the adventurous, go anywhere spirt of Land Rover more than the Camel Trophy. Between 1981 and 1998, Land Rover vehicles were used with Range Rovers, Series 3’s, Defenders, Discovery’s and even the Freelander being painted in the familiar sandglow hue. Pictures and videos of the contestants tackling seemingly impossible journeys are still all over the internet and the competition certainly helped Land Rovers sales.  The Camel Trophy is a large part of Land Rover’s history and one thing Land Rover like to do is market their heritage.

When Land Rover created the Works V8, the first limited edition variant they did after the 70th edition was called the Trophy. Painted in a similar colour to the original Camel Trophy vehicles, it was adorned with Land Rover Trophy decals on the doors and certainly looked the part. In keeping with the nature of the vehicles, the owners were invited to take part in a 3-day adventure at Eastnor castle where the Land Rovers would be handed over. This proved to be so popular that Land Rover did it again, when they created the Trophy II.  

Above – The very limited Defender Trophy was the first celebration of Land Rovers association with the Camel Trophy for many years.

Keen to capture that history with the L663 Defender, Land Rover announced in June 2025 that they would be Launching the Defender Trophy, in support of the charity TUSK. The competition is to take place later this year in Africa, with contestants from all over the world being invited to take part. Contestants must be over 23 years old, physically fit and be able to speak fluent English. The teams will be challenged over three gruelling stages and conquer various engineering, navigational and driving challenges.  Following the application process, national qualifiers will take place in the summer ahead of the main event.

The celebrate this event, Land Rover have launched a special edition Defender 110, and these are just landing at local dealerships now. Based on either the D350 or PHEV Defender 110, the Trophy Edition is clearly inspired by the Camel Trophy and is cited as commemorating the events 45^th Anniversary. The deep sandglow paint is clearly a nod to the past event but for those who want a more subtle Defender, Keswick green is also available.

Below – The inspiration behind the Defender Trophy is clear when you seen the vehicle in the metal. This example has the optional Trophy pack with roof rack, ladders and raise air intake.

To contrast with the sandglow, the bonnet, rood and wheel arches are all gloss black. A unique bonnet decal is fitted, and, on the sides and rear, Trophy badges finish the look.  You won’t find fancy alloy wheels here though; gloss black steel rims fitted with all terrain tyres sit at each corner. Inside, the occupants get treated to 14 way electrically adjustable leather seats and the cross bar is colour matched to the exterior colour.

Mechanically the Trophy is the same as any D350 or PHEV. The air adjustable suspension can lift the vehicle 75mm above the standard height, and if the vehicle detects that it has beached it can make the executive decision to raise itself a further 70mm.  With a high and low gear transfer box, and terrain response the Defender is a very capable machine indeed.

Above – Unique badges are fitted to the sides and rear of the Defender.

The original Camel Trophy vehicles have a very loyal and dedicated following, and the vehicles are very much sort after. Remember the Camel Trophy Freelander that sold for over £52K last year for example. It will be interesting to see if the event vehicles and the special editions garner the same love, but I suspect not. Come the event it will be great to see if the media coverage will be as dramatic as the original event? Pictures of Land Rover Ninety’s being helicoptered, and Discoveries being all but completely submerged were amazing to see but I doubt we will see that in this event. One thing is certain though; I will be watching with interest the event itself!