The Olympics of 4×4: The Camel Trophy Adventure

Camel Trophy was an off-road vehicle-oriented competition that was held annually between 1980 and 2000. It was best known for its use of Land Rover vehicles over challenging terrain. Occasionally called “The Olympics of 4×4”, the event took its name from its main sponsor, the Camel cigarette brand.

It began in by 1980 with three German teams driving Jeeps along the infamous Transamazonica Highway from Belem to Santarem in Brazil. Planned as a one-off promotional event, Camel Trophy caught the imagination of all those who saw the images from this first journey. Subsequent events were held every year until 1998. A final waterborne Camel Trophy event was held in 2000.

The Camel Trophy often defies definition. Asked to describe the Camel Trophy, the Event Director for ten years, Iain Chapman, used these words:

“Neither a race nor a rally, Camel Trophy was first and foremost an adventurous expedition. It did include an element of competition where participating teams could test their 4×4 driving and mechanical skills, endurance, courage, stamina, perseverance and resilience against the worst that nature could offer.”

“As the event developed over the years, thousands of hopeful candidates applied each year for the much sought after places. Each country had the responsibility of reducing national applicants to a final short-list of four. This was generally done along the lines of regional, district and national selection events lasting, variously, from one day to a week depending on the country concerned.”

“The beautifully shot stills and videos in the ad campaigns sold us on the idea that there was more to life than the daily grind, that there was a big, wide world out there that we could go explore, even in the late 20th century.”

“The reality was even better. Gather the fittest and brightest young men and women from around the world, give them identical vehicles and equipment, and let them loose on the wildest and toughest terrain out there. Mud and sand, bogs and dunes, giant trees or not a blade of green at all, the organisers went out of their way, literally, to scout the world’s most inhospitable places. The Amazon, the Congo, Borneo, Patagonia, Siberia, the Maya heartland, all locales whose names alone would excite Indiana Jones as well as wannabes.”