About the marque
- Founded
- 1984 – 1988
- Country
- United Kingdom
Tony Howarth conceived Africar as an affordable vehicle family suited to rough African roads and repairable with local skills and materials. The design used epoxy-coated wooden bodywork inspired by yacht construction and initially relied on Citroën engines and drivetrains. Estate, pickup and six-wheel versions were completed and tested during a 1984 journey from the Arctic Circle to the equator. Africar International Limited was formed at Lancaster in 1986, but only six vehicles were completed before financial problems ended trading in July 1988. More ambitious four- and eight-wheel variants remained proposals, and the concept later briefly resurfaced as Bedouin.
Text adapted from “Africar” on Wikipedia ↗ · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗