Marshall Specialist Vehicles of Cambridge produced the `Pink Panther' Land-Rovers for the British Army. The standard colour was actually green but the name comes from special camouflage, pink being hard to see in the desert. The name stuck. Warner (1985) attributes the first use of pink for desert camouflage to the long range desert group (LRDG) in WWII. Earlier, an aircraft had been painted pink in the expectation that it would be highly visible; it crashed and was not found for several years, and then by chance.

J. Taylor (1966) reports that 72 Pink Panthers were made. The Australian Army had its own Long Range Patrol Vehicles designed for similar objectives.

Also see the LRPV (.au).

P. Warner. The Secret Forces of World War II. Granada, 1985.