Many people regard this vehicle as the pinnacle of the Series Land Rover group. There are not many around these days, as they were only in production from 1979 to 1983 and they were only available for export from the UK initially. Basically, they are a Series 3 Land Rover, with additional chassis and bodywork modifications to accommodate the larger V8 engine. They also have running gear modifications to handle the greater power available from this engine.
The axles have higher ratio differentials than a standard Land Rover Series 3 and the front axle has constant velocity joints.
The transfer box is also modified to limit the Land Rover's top speed to 80mph.

The standard Series Land Rover drum brakes were not capable of slowing this powerful vehicle efficiently enough so, rather than modify the braking system, the power of the engine was reduced. This is achieved simply by adding some air flow restrictors into the inlet manifold. This effectively chokes the air supply a little and thus reduces the engine's power. An inspection nowadays of a Series 3 Stage 1 Land Rover quite often reveals that these restrictors have been removed. A previous owner may have attempted to restore something of the 132bhp that was developed by this engine when it was built into the earlier Range Rover.

The Stage 1 Land Rover provides permanent 4-wheel drive and the centre differential can also be locked. So it's offroad capabilities are outstanding.

The bodywork was available not only in colours already in use on conventional Series 3 Land Rovers at the time, but also in additional colour options of Java Green. Masai Red, Inca Yellow and Pageant Blue.

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