The Africar project set out to provide vehicles able to cope well with the rough terrain of Africa, but also cheap enough to be bought widely in Africa.

Design

They were initially to have

Citroën Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...

engines and drivetrains, until such time as Africar's own engine and drive train was fully developed. The bodywork was to be made of epoxy-coated wood – the 'West' system used in the construction of some yachts – which could be repaired with locally-available labour and materials. The wood for building the cars was to be obtained from sustainably-managed forests.

Production

A company, Africar International Limited, was set up in 1986 to make and sell the vehicles. Based in

Lancaster, England Lancaster (, ) is a city in Lancashire, England, and the main cultural hub, economic and commercial centre of City of Lancaster district. The city is on the River Lune, directly inland from Morecambe Bay. Lancaster is the county town, altho ...

, it intended to offer a variety of vehicles, ranging from a four-wheel drive car to an eight-wheel-drive panel truck. There was considerable interest in the vehicles and their potential, both from firms who saw the commercial possibilities of the project, and from users who appreciated the vehicles' capabilities. Only 6 Africars ever made it into production.

Promotion

Three versions were actually completed, an estate car, a pickup and a six-wheeler and these were tested in 1984 on an expedition from the Arctic Circle in Norway to the equator. A

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

television programme was made of this. There was also a book, entitled "Africar" to accompany the series.

Failure

The project floundered because of financial difficulties, and in July 1988 the company ceased trading.

Legacy

The car was never properly tested by

market forces In economics, a market is a composition of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations or infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering ...

but interest, even in the UK, demonstrated that it was an attractive, capable vehicle.

Founder's fate

The company's founder and sometime owner, Tony Howarth, was arrested in 1994 and charged with fraudulent trading and obtaining property by deception. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment. The project briefly resurfaced as the Bedouin.

Bibliography

* {{Cite book , title=Africar: the Development of a Car for Africa , last=Howarth , first=Anthony , isbn=1870427009 , year=1987 , publisher=

/ The Ordinary Road

External links

"Old Woodies" information

Background information, technical details, and a follow-up article

Interview with Tony Howarth
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England Companies based in Lancaster, Lancashire Off-road vehicles British companies established in 1986