A once in a lifetime trip to South Africa could mean only one thing. While most would savour the opportunity to sample some Southern Hemisphere culture, or the chance to glimpse some exotic wildlife, for me, it provided an opportunity to spot classic cars which have been blessed with a warmer, drier climate. Our kind of cars, but without the ravages of thirty years of salty winter roads.

   As soon as we landed in Cape Town, you couldn’t help but notice the thousands of tiny Nissan Pickups, or ‘bakkies’ as the locals call them. First impressions were that they were just well preserved seventies relics. But it was soon obvious that more than a handful of these robust and hardworked utilities were, in fact, showroom fresh. The chance of a retro Jap, factory fresh, obviously needed further investigation.

   Commonly spotted ferrying gangs of workers around - the Health & Safety Stasi haven’t quite made it to SA yet, and it’s not unusual to see four or five labourers sitting in the load bed on the way to a job - the cool factor of the little Nissan isn’t lost on the nation’s youth. Perfect for chucking surfboards in the back…

   The most amazing fact is that the Nissan 1400 pickup has only just gone out  of production in South Africa after 37 years. Nicknamed the "Champion of Africa" for its ruggedness, more than 275,000 have been made. Starting life as the Datsun 1200, it became the Datsun 1400 in 1980 and finally became the Nissan 1400 10 years later. It continued to sell in South Africa long after being discontinued elsewhere, thanks to its rear-wheel-drive simplicity, untouchable reliability, low maintenance requirements and low purchase price.

   Old Japanese cars are cool, but I reckon these pickups are in a different league. The design has barely changed since its launch - the roof line was raised in the Eighties - and even the most hardworked appear in rude health, and unsurprisingly, rust free. Right hand drive is a bonus and prices are very keen. See where this is going? I wonder how many you could squeeze into a container…

   Emissions legislation has finally killed off the Nissan 1400. It will be replaced by a new front wheel drive pickup based on the Renault-Nissan Alliance’s shared platform which underpins the Clio, Modus and Micra. Modern and no doubt efficient, but like so many things, lacking the soul of the original.