The Camel Trophy was a tough off-road adventure in a wide range of climates, terrains and countries including Russia, Tanzania, Burundi, Guyana and the South Americas with much of the time was spent in swamps and jungles, river crossings and ill-made bridges and roads.

Land Rover vehicles were used for the Camel Trophy from 1981, for 20 years and contestants competed with Discovery from 1990 until 1997 with other Land Rovers providing back-up transport. It was a testament to the new model that, in the 1990 Siberian Camel Trophy, 98% of spares were still unused by the end of the event. This Discovery was not used competitively but as a promotional vehicle for the Camel Trophy.