1987 Land Rover Defender 110 “Perentie”

The Perentie Story

In the early 1980s, Australia’s fleet of military Land Rovers was showing its age. The Series IIA and Series III trucks that had served the Australian Defence Force since the 1960s were overdue for replacement, and the ADF needed something tougher, more reliable, and purpose-built for the harshest operating conditions on earth.¹

The answer was Project Perentie – an 18-month competitive trial that began in September 1983, pitting the Land Rover 110 against the Mercedes-Benz 300GD, the Jeep AM10, the Unimog, and eventually the Toyota Land Cruiser.¹ Land Rover won the contract, but the vehicles the ADF ordered were not ordinary Defenders. They were fundamentally reengineered for military service: a galvanized chassis rated to survive being slung from a helicopter by a single corner without distortion, heavy-duty Salisbury rear axles, blackout and convoy lighting, and a dual 12V/24V electrical system with twin alternators.¹²

The trucks were assembled by JRA Limited at their facility in Moorebank, New South Wales. The first build contract was placed in 1988, with a second following a decade later. In total, approximately 2,500 units were produced in the 4x4 configuration and around 700 in the remarkable 6x6 variant.¹ They were built in several configurations – General Service (GS) cargo trucks, FFR (Fitted For Radio) communications vehicles, ambulances, and even the now-legendary Long Range Patrol Vehicles used by Australian special forces.

Named after the perentie, Australia’s largest monitor lizard, these trucks earned their reputation in some of the most demanding theatres of the late 20th and early 21st centuries: Somalia, Timor-Leste, the Solomon Islands, Iraq, and Afghanistan.¹ The ADF began decommissioning them in 2013 under Project Land 121, replacing them with Mercedes-Benz G-Wagens – but by then, the Perentie had already cemented its place as one of the toughest vehicles Land Rover ever put its name on.

Built to Last: The Isuzu 4BD1

The most consequential engineering decision in Project Perentie was hiding under the bonnet. Rather than use Land Rover’s own engines, the ADF specified the Isuzu 4BD1 – a 3.9-litre, naturally aspirated, direct-injection four-cylinder diesel originally designed for Isuzu’s medium-duty truck line (4 to 8 tonne class).³⁴

The logic was simple: the Rover diesel engines of the era were underpowered and fragile by military standards. The Isuzu, by contrast, was a commercial truck engine dropped into a vehicle that weighed a fraction of what it was designed to haul. In a Perentie, the 4BD1 loafs along at a fraction of its rated capacity – producing around 86-92 horsepower and abundant low-end torque through a 5-speed manual gearbox and two-speed transfer case.³ It is, in the words of one Australian Land Rover mechanic, “so understressed it is nigh on unbreakable.”⁴

That understressed design philosophy is why you see Perenties with 500,000, 600,000, even 700,000 kilometres on the original engine still running strong. The 4BD1 is not fast. It is not refined. What it is, is nearly unkillable – and in a vehicle built for expeditionary use in the Australian outback, that mattered more than anything else.

Rarer Than You Think

When the ADF began decommissioning Perenties in 2013, most were sold through Australian government surplus auctions. Many stayed in Australia, where they’ve become a cult vehicle for overlanders and collectors. But very few have ever left the country.⁵

Getting one to the United States requires navigating the EPA and NHTSA’s 25-year import rule, which exempts vehicles older than 25 years from federal safety and emissions standards.⁶ That opened the door for Perenties starting around 2012, and a trickle have made it stateside since then. The exact number is unknown, but credible estimates put it in the low dozens – you are far more likely to see a Ferrari on an American road than a Perentie.

That scarcity is a big part of what makes these trucks interesting to collectors. Only about 2,500 of the 4x4 variant were ever built, they were never sold to civilians, and most remain in Australia. A Perentie in the US with a clean title is a genuinely rare thing. The UK-based restorer Arksen now offers full frame-off Perentie restorations starting north of $95,000 – which tells you where the market thinks these trucks are headed.⁷

This Truck

This is a 1987 Land Rover Defender 110 “Perentie”, GS (General Service) variant. It is one of the earliest Perenties produced and one of a handful in the United States with a clean title.

It was imported to the US under the 25-year exemption and has been in Washington state since the current owner acquired it in fall 2020. It has been repainted white from its original military livery, runs and drives, and is road-ready. The odometer reads 631,000 km – roughly 392,000 miles – and the Isuzu 4BD1 starts, runs, and drives exactly the way a truck-class diesel with another 400,000 km left in it should. It comes with a clean US title and bill of sale.

Included Extras

This truck comes with over $4,200 worth of overlanding gear from 23 Zero , all included in the sale price:

Total extras value: $4,285+ — all included with the truck.

What Restored Perenties Sell For

This truck is priced as an honest, running, road-ready Perentie – not a concours restoration. For context on where the market sits:

• Arksen P110 restorations – full frame-off Perentie rebuilds by a UK specialist – start at around $95,000-$109,000 before taxes and shipping.⁷
• A restored 1989 Perentie 4x4 with 17,000 miles sold through Bring a Trailer in Macon, Georgia for $23,500.⁵
• A 1989 Perentie 6x6 reached a high bid of $37,000 on Bring a Trailer before the reserve was not met, and restored military Defender 110s now routinely trade in the $50,000-$75,000 range on enthusiast platforms.⁸

At $31,000, this truck sits well below what a restored example commands – and it comes with the galvanized chassis, the bulletproof Isuzu diesel, and a clean US title that most Perenties in Australia cannot offer.

More Photos

Video

Contact

Interested? Have questions about the truck’s history, condition, or logistics? Fill out the form below and the owner will get back to you.