SA4x4 - Overland Adventure Magazine

In ‘09 the Pajero Sport launched in South Africa to much fanfare and expectation, finding itself in a highly attractive vehicle sector with only one major competitor.

Zimbabwe is definitely back on the African overlanding radar. Over the last few years the trickle of South African visitors has increased to a steady flow; in fact we’ve been credited with keeping their beleaguered tourism sector going.

I don’t know where to start. The Conqueror Comfort has more features and compartments than a Chinese treasure chest. This ain’t just an off-road trailer, it’s the ultimate contraband smuggling device… not that I’m endorsing that kinda thing.

Tim Butcher is an English author who lives in Kalk Bay, Cape Town. A former war correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, he’s written two books on Africa: Blood River and, more recently, Chasing the Devil. The titles alone should tell you that these books aren’t written about Africa’s touristy bits.

I used to build motorcycles as a young boy. As time went by my passion for making things from scratch grew stronger and stronger and the projects I attempted got bigger and bigger. Eventually, after dreaming about building a pipe car 4x4 for nearly 10 years, I finally got cracking on the design.

A Unimog really is the ultimate 4x4 – no question about it. The new model, the U4000, boasts 500 mm of ground clearance, portal axles front and rear, two PTOs (power take off points), super low-range gearing, coil springs all-round, excellent axle articulation, thrust tubes protecting the prop shafts, diff-locks front and rear, phenomenal clearance angles, and the ability to inflate / deflate its tyres while on the move.