Perentie Land Rover

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Category: Perentie

Written by Site Admin

The Perentie Land Rover project, named after a lizard known for it's camouflage and his ability to survive in harshest conditions was originally developed by SMC Engineering in Bristol following an enquiry from the Australian Department of Defence to Tom Barton at Land Rover. Jaguar Rover of Australia (JRA) further developed the SMC design during 1981 to include an Isuzu diesel engine and galvanised chassis. This design went head to head against the Unimog which was also being evaluated. In June 1982 JRA were awarded the first design / production contract under the project. Land Rover brought one 6x6 vehicle over to Solihull for evaluation & testing purposes. The first production vehicle entered service on  February 6, 1987, the last on January 21, 1992. Around 700 Perentie 6x6's are in regular service together with 3005 Perentie 4x4 110's, which replaced the Toyota Land Cruiser, Land Rover Series IIa and Land Rover Series III fleets within the Australian armed forces.

Perentie 6x6 LRPV.

The LRPV was introduced into service with the Australian Army in November 1991. This vehicle is used to carry out medium and long range reconnaissance patrols over continental Australia by the Special Air Services Regiment (SASR). With a crew of three, plus stores and equipment the vehicle weighs 4840 kg. It has fuel tank capacity of 365 litres which makes them capable of driving 1600 kms in desert conditions without refuelling, and a maximum speed of 95kmph (around 59mph). This vehicle has an integrated cab and body structure with stowing facilities for equipment and rations as well as a low profile over the crew area. The cab has two seats, no doors and a removable windscreen. Mountings are provided for two machine guns (MAG 58 and MINIMI) and a 250cc Suzuki motorcycle which can be carried across the rear of the body. The Australian army has 27 of these vehicles in service.

Perentie LRPV.

Other Perenties.

The LRPV is only one of a range of six wheel drive Land Rover variants procured by the Australian Army via its Perentie programme, the others being an ambulance (pictured above), a general maintenance (workshop) vehicle, an electronic repair vehicle, an air defence variant and a general cargo vehicle.

All 6x6 Perenties have disc brakes all around and Adwest power steering. About 400 of them also have a Thomas T9000 winch. The engine is an Isuzu Turbo-Diesel of 90 KW @ 3000rpm and 253 Nm of torque at 2500 rpm. The rear axle's diff is offset to the left to allow any axle full wheel travel. The driveshaft enters the transfer box at the PTO output and is actuated by a vacuum-operated clutch system. Wheelbase is 140 inches, departure angles front is 37°, rear 25°. The cab has overhead controls and is built on a steel space frame. Seats, fibreglass dash, trim and large windscreen are made in Australia, as is over 70% of the vehicle.

The ambulances are equipped with fibreglass bodies, air conditioning and a full isolation load area. Crew gear is stowed in the compartment over the cab. General maintenance and Electronic repair vehicles carry a similar body to the ambulances. The General Maintenance Vehicles have opening side sections that form a covered work space complete with bench and vice.

All bodies have common mounting points so if the base vehicle breaks down the body can be removed and fitted to any Perentie chassis.

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Australian 'Perentie' 6x6 LRPV.
Picture © www.remlr.com