The Dutch distributor was probably the first to launch a limited edition Land Rover, but the Germans were one year earlier with their Camel Trophy inspired Range Rover offering.
1981 was the first year the Camel Trophy organisers chose a Land Rover product, the teams would be using a Range Rover to cross the Sumatran jungle. In the same year, the Trophy Range Rover was introduced to the German car buyers, with lots of extras, although not one similar to the competing vehicles in Indonesia…
It featured:
- Sunroof
- Roofrack on the rear end of the roof so the sunroof would not be obstructed (optional)
- 2 fog lights and 2 long range lights
- Black vinyl roof
- Panoramic rear view mirror
- Handheld searchlight
- Bullbar
- Winch (optional)
- Tachometer
- Compass
- Map reading lamp
- VDO Infobord computer (optional)
- Protective foil on the lower body
- Brake lights on the upper tailgate
- Car radio with speaker (optional)
- Overdrive (optional)
Although the competition vehicles were fitted with a roofrack and bullbar, they are dissimilar from Der Trophy Range Rover, as you can see here:
Der Trophy Range Rover even got it’s own brochure, a nice fold out affair, of which one resides in my private collection. The coverline reads ‘Adventure, you now have a partner.”
