The Uri

The Uri
(Namibia)

Uri. From the Namibian word for "jump", this extremely able 4x4 is perfect for the real off road path. Made in Namibia and South Africa using a Toyota chassis and engine (underpinnings).

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The Nyayo Pioneer

The Nyayo Pioneer
(Kenya)

nitiating the idea of a Kenyan car in 1986, former President Daniel arap Moi asked the University of Nairobi to produce a vehicle, 'however ugly or slow it may be'.

The cars were not ugly. They were not very slow. During the test runs, the cars could attain a speed of 120 km per hour, according to a project engineer who used to drive the cars along Mombasa Road to as far as Sultan Hamud.

These first ever Kenyan made cars - The Pioneer Nyayo Cars - now parked and gleaming clean at the Kenya Railways grounds - were, according to Mr Mogere, manufactured from locally available raw materials, resources and expertise.

The car parts were either produced at military bases or at the Kenya Railways Central Workshops. And in 1990, President Moi launched three new Nyayo cars at the Kasarani Sports Complex.

With the successful completion of the first phase - the production of the prototypes and the subsequent establishment of the Nyayo Motor Corporation - the Government set in motion the establishment of the necessary plants for mass production. All in all, the Government needed to establish 11 plants at an estimated cost of Sh 7.8 billion. The Government could only afford two plants - the General Machining Complex comprising of advanced computerized equipment for machining automotive parts, and a Ductile Iron Foundry.

Demands from major donors to sell off non-performing parastatals made it difficult for the Government to inject more funds into the project.

Determined to put a Kenyan car on the road, the Government, in 1999, insisted that the project operate on a commercial basis and be self-sustaining. But the Government continued allocating money to the car project every year. However, much of the allocations, over 60 per cent, were never disbursed due to lack of funds.

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OTAVI

OTAVI
(Ghana)

Enoch Afudego, a 39-year old Ghanaian mechanic has successfully assembled a saloon car. The car, which he named OTAVI, had the entire body including the bonnet, roof and boot designed and moulded with scrap metal and has the engine of an Opel Ascona.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra, Mr Afudego said it took him four months to build the car, which he mostly did at his leisure hours. He said after completing West Africa Secondary School, he did not learn any trade nor pursue his education further.

He said the idea of building the car begun somewhere in 1984, when he visited Liberty Baptist Church where he was inspired in a sermon preached by the Rev. Christian Dogor, General Overseer of the church. He said the Pastor challenged the congregation to unearth their God given talents and put it to use since that was the only way one could achieve greatness.

Mr Afudegu said some days later he began by designing a bicycle, which he later perfected. He said after his success with the bicycle, he started building the car, which finally resulted in the manufacture of the Octavi. He noted that he was in the process of manufacturing a bus and an amphibian car.

The car, which was driven from Tarkwa to the office of the GNA, looked quite rugged for the Ghanaian terrain. Mr Afudego called on the government and other philanthropists to assist him produce the cars on a large scale for local use.

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The Z-600

The Z-600

(Nigeria) The Z-600 was the brainchild of a Nigerian Dr Ezekiel Izuogu, who envisioned an all-African car, designed and made in Nigeria from 90% local content. It has a doorbell for a horn, quite a surprising detail, and still remains as an existing prototype.

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The Africar

The Africar

(UK) Special Mention
Not only Africa but Europe too, have considered developing a sustainable vehicle exclucively for the African continent.

Tony Howarth an English jounalist / photographer set up Africar International Limited (AIL)
in April 1986. His ambition was to develop a wooden car called the 'Africar' for Africa, that could be built in Africa, sustainable for use on the continent's rough terrain. In the early '80's Howarth built thre Africars which were used on an expedition from the Arctic to the Equator. The chassis and bodywork of the Africars were made of epoxy resin-impregnated plywood. On these prototypes, Howarth used Citroen 2CV engines, gearboxed and suspension as well as components from other manufacturers.
Sad to say this sucessful product did not live to see full scale production. It would have been the model that would have changed African car market as we know it.

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The Ramses

The Ramses
(Egypt)

The NSU Ramses Utilica was the first car produced in Egypt, and was the result of a coorporation between the new egyptian car firm Egyptian Automotive Co., and the german NSU. The factory was located right next to the Great Pyramids. Plans were to produce around 10.000 cars a year, most of the work being manual labor.

The NSU Ramses used the Prinz 30 as it's basis. The body, looking something like a VW Kübelwagen; it was much more square then the original Prinz, creating more space in the front luggage compartment. The square form was the result of the absence of equipment to mold metal plates in more streamlined forms. The doors and passenger windows where made of canvas on a frame, and could be complete removed. The soft top could be folded back, just like on an ordinary cabrio.

The only chrome parts that could be found on the car were the front and rear fenders - in the heat and rough egyptian environment, chrome parts tend to show blisters in a very short period of time.

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The Banchee

The Banchee
(South Africa)

An absolutely gorgeous open sportscar created by Tertius Van Zyl in South Africa. Tertius writes:

"Being a penniless youth and having abused my mildly tuned 850 in the mid 60s with rallying and a foray into racing, I decided that a sports car would be a great idea to put on the track. No money meant that 'if you can't buy one, make one'! Having had inspiration from a road test published in Cars & Car Conversions mag of the Unipower GT and clutching my copy (original 1969 version still in existence) of Allan Staniforth‘s High Speed-Low Cost, 'Banshee' was created over a period of about 15 years during which time I was transferred by my employer to five cities in South Africa, Banshee having covered about 2,500 miles without putting in any fuel!

"Regrettably, the Sportscar class was abolished during the course of building and my racing aspirations were curtailed anyway by the intrusion of marriage. Banshee is still hauled out on high days and holidays but has completed three 'Durban Dash' events over the past years (800 mile round trip each from Johannesburg to Durban); (photo T. van Zyl)

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